Max Force
by The Fink
Summary: Jen has to face her past before she can get on with her present... [Book 2 in the Identiverse saga NOW COMPLETE]
1. Prologue - Returning Heroes

Disclaimer: Characters aren't mine (borrowed from BVE without permission but no money made so no harm no foul). Plot and details on Time Force procedures are mine, you're welcome to borrow, but please ask me first.

Timing: Concurrent with the last chapter of Identity

This is book two in the Identiverse series. You don't need to have read Identity to get the gist of what's going on here (I will try to make this as stand alone as I can) but at the end of the day, this is a sequel and it will help you to have read Identity (or at the very least, seen PRTF in full!).

With thanks to Ekat for beta'ing, Gamine for listening, Selma for the plotting sessions (even if they weren't necessarily for my stuff, they still helped!), Ecolea and Leathie for being there and Chris for supplying me with the 'in' to how to finish of Identity...

Please offer feedback -- it tells me how I'm doing.

~*~

Max Force -- Returning Heroes

Jen didn't think she had ever felt quite as miserable in her whole life.

The time ship was coming into land in the year 3000 and she knew she ought to have been happy. She'd been successful in her mission and she was coming... But she couldn't finish that thought and call the year 3000 home, because it wasn't. Home, so they said, was where your heart was and that, Jen knew, was some thousand years in the past.

"It'll be OK," Trip finally said as the time ship touched down.

Jen started. That had been the first thing anyone had said to her since they had left. "What?"

Trip smiled softly. "You know what I mean. Trust me."

Jen knew then that Trip's Xybrian heritage was coming to the fore, but it was hard to trust his words. Particularly as the control room door opened at that moment and in walked the one man she least wanted to see.

Alex.

Still wearing those damn shades.

Still looking ice cool.

Still looking exactly like Wes without an ounce of Wes' personality.

"Welcome back, Rangers," he began. "Captain Logan's waiting to speak to you. Kendall, Regis, Walker -- you're up first."

Jen felt her spirits sink even lower. Disciplinary hearings. It was standard Time Force procedure to split the squad from the squad leader if there was even the slightest suspicion that the squad leader had gone rogue. _And what could be more rogue than defying orders and stealing a time ship, never mind whatever else I've done since then._

A glance at Lucas, the official second in command of the squad, told her that he knew just as well as she did what Alex's order meant. What worried Jen was that Lucas appeared to be debating what he should do. She shook her head minutely. Her fate might be sealed, but that was no reason for Lucas to jeopardise his career. Katie caught the gesture and gently tapped Lucas on the shoulder. He sighed.

"Yes, sir."

Reluctantly, Lucas led Katie and Trip from the time ship.

Jen watched them leave, then turned to Alex, waiting for him to say something. Nothing seemed forthcoming. Finally, she broke the silence,

  
"Well if you're going to clap me in irons, get on with it."

Puzzlement was etched across Alex's face. "Why would I do that?"

"You've come to take me to a disciplinary hearing, haven't you?" Jen queried.

"Of course not!" Alex exclaimed. "Why on earth...oh!" And to Jen's complete astonishment, Alex blushed. "You thought that... I'm sorry." He shook his head, presumably to reorder his thoughts. "No, you're not up on charges. I'm sorry -- I should have said. I didn't think," he finished contritely.

Jen stared. This was the Alex she had known before Ransik's attack. But was **this** the real Alex? Or was the rule obsessed, rigid jerk the real one? That question finally removed any lingering guilt for falling in love with Wes. _I never really loved Alex because I never really **knew** Alex,_ she realised.

"Can we start this conversation over?" Alex asked after several moments more of silence.

Jen shrugged slightly. "Sure."

"I'm not asking for a second chance...I know I don't deserve that. I'd just..." Alex trailed off and looked down, presumably to avoid her gaze. "Just like to know that we can be friends?"

Jen could only open and close her mouth in shock. Of all the things she might have been expecting from Alex, this was about the last on her list, and the half-hopeful half-hopeless expression on his face didn't help because it just drove home the similarity between him and Wes. Suddenly, every feeling, every emotion that she thought she'd had under control threatened to overwhelm her. _I will **not** cry in front of Alex._

"Jen?"

Jen swallowed. "I need time, Alex." The words were husky with unshed tears. She swallowed again. "It's too soon."

Alex bowed his head. "I'm sorry." The whole set to his shoulders was identical to the way Wes looked when she'd just finished chewing him out over something.

I. will. not. cry.

There was a long, agonising moment of silence, then Alex looked up again. For once, Jen was glad he was wearing the shades -- at least it meant she didn't have to see the pain in them, and she knew he was hurting, she just couldn't quite bring herself to feel regret.

"Rob's probably finished with the others," he said softly. "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I think I'm going to be."

Alex nodded once and led her out of the time ship and into labyrinthine Time Force headquarters. "You'll be pleased to hear," he said in a conversational tone of voice that gave nothing away, "that they sentenced Ransik yesterday. Nadira follows today -- your reports about her will be taken into consideration. I don't think it will get her off altogether, but I do think she'll avoid cryo-prison." Alex gave a huff of laugher. "Which will please Trip."

"What?" Jen blinked. "Why?"

She got the impression that beside her, Alex was rolling his eyes, but even if she'd looked, she wouldn't have seen the gesture, thanks to the shades. "You mean you didn't notice?"

Jen was tempted to say 'would I be asking if I had', but refrained. "No."

"I would suggest," Alex replied, "that our Xybrian friend has something of an interest in Nadira."

Jen frowned. Trip? Interested in Nadira? And yet, there was something about that idea that made sense. "I guess."

"You realise he's volunteered as her parole officer?"

When did Trip do that? Why didn't I notice?

"It was while we were moving the prison facility back to the year 3000," Alex explained.

"Oh." There was not much else to say.

Conversation ground to a halt and the rest of the journey to Captain Logan's office passed by accompanied only by the sound of their feet on the hallway floor.

"Well, here we are," said Alex presently, as he halted at Logan's office.

Suddenly, Jen was conscious of being out of uniform, but it was too late to think of details like that. Alex had already entered the access code and the door was already sliding open. Trying to muster an air of self-confidence, she stepped forward, into Logan's office.

She half expected Alex to follow, but the door slid shut before he could.

Jen swallowed and gathered herself. "Officer Scotts reporting as ordered, sir."

Logan smiled. "At ease, Jen," he replied. "And please, take a seat." Jen sat down on the seat in front of Logan's desk. "We have a few things to talk about."

"Sir?"

"The first thing is for me to tell you that you are officially reinstated as an officer." Jen blinked. She had forgotten that Logan had suspended her -- and the rest of her squad -- for losing Ransik. Logan smiled faintly. "Admittedly, I actually reinstated you the moment Alex woke up and told me he'd ordered you to go after Ransik -- but now that you're back, it's official."

"Thank you sir."

"Secondly, I have to ask you to turn your morpher in."

  
"Sir?" Jen frowned.

"It's not what you think, Jen. With Ransik -- who is unquestionably the strongest mutant in this century or any other -- under lock and key now, there isn't actually a need for Time Force rangers. It will still be your morpher and if, heaven forbid, circumstances arose where rangers were required you and your squad would be called up." Logan paused, then added, "The bigwigs have deemed them to come into the same category as chrono-blasters, I don't agree with them, but they make the rules."

"Sir." Jen nodded. _What you mean is they don't trust us,_ she thought as she undid the morpher strap and handed the device to Logan, who placed it in a secure case.

"One moment."

  
Jen nodded and watched as a member of the Time Force weapons department appeared and claimed the case. Once they were alone, Logan continued,

"Thirdly, as a result of your work in the year 2001, I am pleased to tell you that you have been promoted to Captain."

Jen blinked, stunned. "Sir?"

Logan smiled. "I know that's quite a hike in rank, but it's a promotion on merit. You've been self-sufficient for four months in a century you were unfamiliar with; that alone is better than many serving officers would have managed. Further more, you achieved your mission objective without more than some faint timeline disruption."

Jen blinked again. "Sir?"

"Temporal are still double checking their findings, but the only changes to the timeline appear to be a book of bad poetry and a line of children's toys -- and they're not sure about the children's toys."

Jen stared. _But Alex said..._ She frowned. _Why would Alex lie?_ Aloud, all she said was, "Oh."

Logan smiled again. "Your promotion, by the way, is mirrored by similar promotions for you squad -- Lucas Kendall and Katie Walker are both promoted to Lieutenant while Trip Regis is promoted to Squad Leader." Jen nodded. All four of them had jumped two ranks -- it was almost unprecedented within Time Force. Then again, the whole situation was unprecedented so why should this be any different? "Also, so as you know, Wesley Collins is promoted to Squad Man in absentia -- he isn't an official member of Time Force, but it was felt by the bigwigs that some sort of public acknowledgement was required."

Jen nodded, absurdly pleased -- and proud -- that there would be some record of Wes' actions. "What about Eric Myers?"

It was Logan's turn to look surprised. "I was actually going to ask you that."

"Sir?"

"Well, since he wasn't actually a part of -- adopted part of -- your squad it was very difficult for me to make an assessment of him. You worked with him for virtually the whole time you were in the year 2001."

_Sort of,_ Jen commented silently. There was part of her that recalled the arrogance and pig-headedness with which she, and the rest of her squad, had been treated, but she knew for sure now that hadn't been the 'real' Eric. She didn't know what, exactly, had gone on the night the clock tower had been destroyed but she got the feeling Wes had finally and completely lost his temper with Eric. Either way, it had certainly made a big impact on Eric -- the man she met in hospital after Ransik had been captured was definitely not the same guy. _And, even when he **was** being a pain in the neck, he was helping -- in his own way._

"Squad man in absentia." Logan looked startled. "He did as much to help bring Ransik to justice as Wes did -- he just did it his own way."

Still looking surprised; Logan nodded and made a note of her recommendation on one of the datapads on his desk. "Fourth thing," he continued as he set the datapad back down, "is more for your own interest than anything." Jen waited as Logan picked up a different datapad. "For service above and beyond the call of duty, Captain Alexander Collins is hereby promoted to the rank of Major and is posted to head the newly created Covert Operations Department." Logan replaced the datapad as he finished reading. "The Shadow Force Megazord falls under his jurisdiction."

Jen nodded. "I...guessed as much from some of the things he said to us when he came to 2001."

Logan didn't look surprised. "He said he thought you might have done. Related to that, Alex has asked me to ask you," Jen felt her stomach tighten, "if you'll consider a transfer to Covert Operations."

"I...need to think about that one, sir."

Logan nodded. "Of course. You don't need to decide straight away -- all four of you have four weeks of leave starting from this afternoon. The rest of your squad, as was, have also been offered the transfer -- it's felt that with your experience in 2001, you're obvious candidates for the Covert Ops department."

"Have they accepted?" Jen asked.

"They've also requested time to think about it -- which is understandable." Logan consulted with another datapad. "The final thing is to let you know that at eleven hundred hours -- a little over an hour away -- there will be an official presentation ceremony and, I'm afraid, a press conference."

"Press conference?" Jen echoed, suddenly feeling nervous.

Logan looked a little sheepish. "Not my idea. It's..."

"The bigwigs?" Jen suggested wryly.

Logan nodded. "Afraid so -- you and your squad, along with Alex, have become somewhat famous thanks to your escapades, and the people want to know 'how you captured Ransik'."

_And you thought the media were bad in your time, Wes,_ Jen thought with a groan. "Sir."

"I'll let you go, get cleaned up and get back into uniform for the presentation," Logan finished, smiling faintly.

Jen nodded. She was almost waiting for him to tell her 'dismissed' when she realised that they were now the same rank. _That's going to take a **lot** of getting used to._ Logan's smile turned a fraction more amused as he clearly guessed her train of thought. Slightly sheepishly, she stood up.

"Thank you sir."

"Good to have you back in one piece," Logan replied.

~*~

Three hours, one presentation and a press conference that made the Spanish Inquisition seem like idle questioning, and Jen found herself standing in her apartment for the first time in quite literally a thousand years.

Looking around the boxy little apartment, she could see the signs of four months' absence. Although there was no physical dust, the air felt stale and too warm; the small fern that had been decorating her desk was very, very dead; the bowl of fruit that had been on the breakfast bar was similarly dead; she didn't even want to think about what the coffee maker would look like.

_Guess that's what happens when you over sleep,_ she mused. She should have known then, that something was going to go wrong with the prisoner transfer. She never overslept, yet the day before going to transport Ransik from jailhouse containment to the cryo-prison, she had overslept by half an hour and normal 'morning' tasks, like putting the fruit into stasis and cleaning the coffee machine had been left. She'd intended to do them when her shift finished.

Longest shift of my life.

The intercom buzzed. Jen frowned for a second, until she looked at the entry phone imager: A junior Time Force cadet was holding her bags from the time ship.

"Captain Logan sent me with these, ma'am," he explained when he arrived at her apartment door.

"Thank you," Jen answered.

"You're welcome," the cadet replied, smiling a little shyly. He set the bags down just inside the door and hurriedly departed.

Jen shook her head, smiling faintly. She remembered being that nervous around senior officers, although Alex had cured her of that. Alex. She winced. She had no idea what she was going to do -- about him, or the offer of a transfer into his department. But there was four weeks to think about that. Now was a chance to kick back and get used to being back in the year 3000.

Guess I'd better unpack.

Jen carried the bags through into her bedroom and started to sort through their contents. The clothing went into the laundry hamper, _Guess I know what I'll be doing tomorrow..._, while the odds and ends of makeup were piled up in preparation for taking them into her bathroom. As she tipped up the duffelbag that she'd acquired during the four months in the past to make sure she'd got everything out, something small dropped out and landed on the bed with a barely audible thump.

Jen frowned and picked it up.

It was a ring.

A narrow band of silver with beautiful, antique looking silver etching either side of a mounted gem of a pinkish-purple hue. _Amethyst,_ she guessed. _But what's it doing in my bag?_

Turning to the other bag -- the babydoll knapsack purse that Katie had found for her when she and Wes had gone undercover at the Super Strong Gym -- she went to repeat what she'd done with the duffel, only to find a crisp, white envelope in the top with her name on it, written in a neat, elegant hand.

What the...?

Curiously, Jen opened it and took out a letter.

Dear Jen

This is probably the hardest thing I've ever had to write in my life. I've wanted to tell you how I feel about you for a very, very long time -- and with you going back to your time tomorrow I probably won't get the chance now... I know the sensible thing would be to try and forget this but...you know me. I don't do the sensible.

Jen sat down on the bed, her heart leaping then dipping as though it was on a roller coaster. _Wes..._ She turned back to the letter...**his** letter.

So here it is. I love you. I love you with everything I am and everything I ever will be.

Who'd have thought it? I certainly wouldn't have done.

I don't know how you truly feel about me, but I'm willing to risk making a fool out of myself by telling you this -- after all, you're reading this now in the year 3000; I can't see you laugh and you can't stick me through a brick wall for daring to fall for you.

Jen slowly shook her head. _I wouldn't have laughed -- or put you through a brick wall._ She looked back at the letter, realising the page was now shaking.

But some how, I don't think either of those would be your reaction.

By now, you've probably found my gift: The ring. It doesn't mean what you think -- I'm not proposing to you across the centuries. (I'm dumb, but I'm not that dumb.) It's a gift of friendship and love -- it belonged to my mother. I know she'd have liked you and I can't think of someone who I would rather give it to.

Good luck in your life.

All my love,

Wes

PS Don't be **too** hard on Alex -- I'm sure he had his reasons.

The letter dropped from suddenly nerveless fingers as Jen slowly curled in on herself. _He really did love me..._

TO BE CONTINUED...


	2. Chapter 1 - Conspiracy Theory

Disclaimer: Jen, Alex, Lucas, Trip, Circuit, Wes and Eric don't belong to me (borrowed from BVE without permission) but the plot, the Time Force organisational details, Marissa Detourny, Merck Taylor and Biocon do. You're welcome to borrow, but asking first would be nice.

With thanks to Ekat for beta'ing and putting up with me working this through; to Gamine for beta'ing and listening to me whine; to Selma for listening to me whine and for the plotting sessions (they might not have been my universe, but they've been a LOT of fun!); to Ecolea looking this over and for giving me something else to think about when I needed the break.

Many grateful thanks to everyone who said how much they enjoyed the prologue to this -- hope you like this new instalment.

Please offer feedback -- it tells me how I'm doing.

~*~

Max Force -- Conspiracy Theory

The Quadrangle was a beautiful, grassy area. To its left was the main Time Force headquarters, to its right, the Time Force Academy, while behind it sat the central courthouse. The main city thoroughfare framed the fourth side. It was an area Jen had come to love during her time at the academy. It didn't seem to matter how many other people there were sitting out on the grass, it always felt peaceful. It was a place she could sit and think.

Which was how she found herself sitting on one of the benches on the Quadrangle an hour or so before she was due to report back for duty after her four weeks of leave. What was she going to do? If she didn't accept the transfer to Alex's department then she would be posted to lead a precinct, which was fine -- except that she knew she wasn't ready to be an almost total desk jockey. On the other hand...

"Still deciding?"

Jen look up to see the speaker, Lucas. "How'd you guess?"

"Well, it took me four weeks to figure out whether I wanted to work for Alex or not -- and the only history I have with the guy is his time in 2001." Lucas smiled faintly. "I figured..." He left his sentence open.

"Yeah." Jen sighed and nodded. "What are you guys doing?" she asked, hoping that hearing their plans might give her some perspective on her own.

Lucas sighed as he sat down on the bench beside her. "Katie's leaving Time Force altogether -- you knew that, right?" Jen nodded, she had spoken to Katie several times during the four weeks and hadn't been surprised when the other woman had announced her intention to leave. "Trip's already joined Covert Ops." That too, didn't surprise Jen. Had Trip remained in the Crime department, he would have been expected to start leading a squad and that just wasn't Trip. "And as for me..." Lucas sighed again. "I'm gonna join. It's not exactly what I joined Time Force for but after spending four months in 2001..." He shrugged.

Jen nodded again. "I want to do it," she admitted. "But..."

It was Lucas' turn to nod. "But you don't know if you can work with Alex?"

Absently, Jen fingered Wes' gift to her. "No."

"Want some advice?"

"Sure."

Lucas smiled as he stood up. "Take the transfer and see how it goes. You find you want to strangle the boss -- you can always transfer back."

"And admit he got to me?" Jen snorted, also getting to her feet. "No way." Lucas snickered. "And you knew I was going to say that." Lucas inclined his head. "When did you get to know me so well?" Lucas smiled and said nothing. "Well, I guess we'd better go report in, huh?"

"Uh-huh." Lucas nodded and his expression turned more serious. "It'll be OK," he said gently. "Trip's absolutely positive about that and...so am I."

_And so was Katie when I spoke to her last night,_ Jen mused. _Why is it they can believe but I can't?_ "I guess."

"When have we ever been wrong?" Lucas retorted, just a hint of cockiness about the reply, as he started across the Quadrangle towards Time Force Headquarters.

Jen had to smile at that. "You want me to make a list?" she asked, following, but all she got in reply was a laugh.

They entered the building together. "Well, I'll see you later," said Lucas as he signed in. "When you're done with all the paperwork."

"Oh joy..." Jen muttered. "You had to remind me of the paperwork." She frowned. "Wait a minute -- how come you don't have any to do?"

Lucas smirked. "I came in yesterday to do it all." And with that, he headed into the labyrinthine headquarters building.

Jen sighed. "Why didn't I think of that?"

~*~

One, paperwork filled morning later and Jen found herself in a small, bare office.

"This is yours," the administrative clerk had explained. "It's basic but you're welcome to spruce it up a bit."

_Basic,_ Jen thought wryly, _is an understatement. Wes would probably call this a broom closet._

She made a mental note to buy a new fern and install it here on the grounds that it might last longer that way, but before she could think about sitting down at the desk to start looking over the complete brief for her new role there was a bleep. A moment later and the door silently slid open.

"Captain Scotts?" inquired the woman who was wearing a lieutenant's rank patch. "I'm Lieutenant Marissa Detourny -- Major Collins' aide."

_Major **who**?_ Was Jen's first reaction, followed hot on the heels by, _Oh -- Alex._ Aloud, all she said was, "Yes?"

Marissa smiled, clearly guessing at least some of the thought process. "He's sent me to ask you if you're available for a meeting at fourteen hundred hours. He'd have come himself but he's currently having his ear bent by a member of Temporal."

Knowing how much Alex liked listening to temporal analysis; Jen had to fight not to laugh. _Well, I knew I'd have to face him doing this job -- might as well make it sooner rather than later. _"Of course."

Marissa smiled and nodded. "Thank you ma'am."

Before Jen could say anything about the mode of address, Marissa had withdrawn from the office and the door had slid shut behind her. _I suppose I **am** 'ma'am' now..._ That was another thing that was going to take some getting used to.

She glanced at the chronometer on the wall. Thirteen forty-five. Not long enough for her to go to the canteen to grab something for lunch. _Damn._ She sighed. _I might as well head on up to Alex's office. Better to be early rather than late._

Alex's office was on the floor above, and had she taken the elevator it would have taken her less than five minutes, but today, she chose to take the more scenic route and go via the stairs. _Or maybe it's just because I've gotten so used to climbing stairs everyday that I'm missing that exercise..._ Jen shook off the thought as absurd. She was taking the stairs because the nearest staircase had a view out over the Quadrangle. _Sure, and if I tell myself that enough times, I'll start to believe it, too._

She was still trying to convince herself that she wasn't missing the clock tower's stairs when she reached Alex's office. Marissa was seated at a desk in the anti-chamber.

"Is A...Major Collins available?" Jen asked, barely remembering to call Alex by his rank.

"Certainly, ma'am." Marissa nodded and waved Jen through.

Jen entered Alex's office to find Alex staring out of the window, apparently deep in thought.

"Captain Scotts reporting as ordered, sir."

Alex slowly turned to face her. "Jen -- please, have a seat." Jen sat. "Privacy lock, authorisation Alpha Red One."

Jen stared at Alex wondering just what was going on. Meetings with superiors were never conducted behind a privacy lock.

"Privacy lock activated," announced the computer.

As soon as the confirmation came, the cold, professional mask Alex had been wearing slid from his face to reveal a man extremely worried by something. Jen felt her stomach twist. This was not going to be good news.

"I'm not going to beat around the bush," he began. "We've got a hell of a problem." He ran his fingers through his hair and sat back in his seat. "Have you heard of Merck Taylor?"

"The name's familiar but..." Jen shrugged slightly.

Alex nodded slightly. "He was a friend of mine back when I was a cadet and in my early days as an officer. Things turned a little sour when he was turned down by the ranger project and I got accepted. I don't think he's spoken to me since." Jen frowned. Alex wasn't the type to wander down memory lane to no purpose. "He made captain about the same time you made Squad Leader, and got posted to a precinct in New England...which is where the trouble started." He grimaced. "While out there, he met a criminal who went by the name of Biocon. That name mean anything to you?"

This time, Jen nodded, feeling sick to her stomach. "That's the son of a bitch who wiped out Shendraville." _Killing my parents. If I hadn't been staying with my uncle, he'd have got me, too,_ she added silently. "I thought Time Force had long since nailed him."

"So did Time Force," Alex agreed grimly. "According to our records, he died in a shoot-out not long after Shendraville. But no body was ever recovered." Jen stared. "I've spent most of this morning trying to find out why and I keep being stonewalled, so I've put Trip onto it to see what he and Circuit can dig up." Jen nodded, that made sense. What Trip and Circuit couldn't manage between them with a computer system just wasn't worth doing. "But the end result is, Biocon is very much alive and well...some when."

"Some when?" Jen didn't like the sound of that.

"Five days ago, Merck Taylor was declared rogue. He was apprehended and seemed to come quietly, but when he was taken to jail to await trial, Biocon freed him. They then stole the impounded timewarper Ransik used to travel to 2001 and used it to escape."

This all sounded like a bad dream. "How could they do that?" Jen asked.

Alex looked grim. "They had help. I can't prove it yet, but there is a third member of their little group. There has to be. I've got Lucas and Marissa researching Merck's time in New England to see if we can pinpoint any suspects. I need you to go after them."

Jen stared at Alex, incredulous. "You want me to do **what**?"

"I need you to go after Merck and Biocon."

"On my own?"

"Not exactly."

"Feel free to make less sense," Jen muttered dryly.

In spite of the situation Alex had just been outlining, he gave a faint smile at her comment. That was when Jen realised it was not necessarily the right thing to say to a superior officer. She opened her mouth to apologise, but he shook his head. "No, you're right. I'm not being very clear. Yes, you're the only person going back in time. No, you're not the only person going after them."

The realisation hit Jen like a lead weight. "They landed up in 2001."

"2002, according to the scan," Alex replied. "The reason for the close proximity to Ransik's touch down point has something to do with the timewarper's construction..." Alex gave a somewhat helpless shrug. "Temporal mechanics is not my strong point." Jen nodded. "But as things would have it, we're fortunate that they touched down in a time slightly **after** your return point."

"Wes and Eric."

Alex nodded. "Technically, it's against all rules and regs., since they're both citizens of the twenty-first century, but they both have ranks within Time Force now, albeit honorary ones. And, or at least so I believe from the reports I've seen, they and you make a formidable team."

"I guess." Jen had never really given the matter any thought.

"And this," Alex continued, "is your cover mission." He passed over a datapad.

Jen glanced at it, then looked back at Alex. "Cover mission?"

He nodded. "Until we find out who the third member of the group is, I can't trust anyone and the last thing I want to do is tip off Merck that someone's after him. The only people who will know your real mission beyond me, yourself, Wes and Eric will be Trip, Lucas, Marissa, and Temporal Director Nechev -- who conducted the scan for them herself rather than enlarge that circle any further. As far as anyone else is concerned, you're doing some fairly standard reconnaissance on some anomalous readings." Alex sighed. "The handy thing is, the readings are anomalous and the chances are, someone would have been dispatched from this department to check into them."

"What about the witnesses to Merck's escape? Surely there's a lot of people who know they've vanished?" Jen queried.

Alex shook his head. "There were no witnesses. Biocon saw to that. The reason we know about it at all is that Temporal put a tag on the timewarper so that if it was activated without authorisation, we'd know about it." Alex grimaced again. "That, plus the bodies of Merck's guards." Jen shuddered. "Director Nechev brought it to my office yesterday morning. There is one other officer in Temporal who knows anything -- and he has been sworn to silence. All anyone else knows is that Merck and Biocon are on the run. That way, as far as they're concerned, they believe they're home free." 

Jen nodded and glanced at the cover mission brief.

Mission TFCO0015 -- R.o.A.R.

General Objective: Reconnaissance of the anomalous readings regarding the corporation N-Tek and if found to be relating to mutant activity, or relating to time-lost objects, take suitable action.

Time period: Early 21st Century. Specific year -- 2002.

Location: Del Oro Bay, California; possibly worldwide.

See files TFCO0015a through d for data on relevant individuals.

The files were also in the datapad, but there would be time to review them later. Looking back at Alex she said, "When do you need me to leave?"

Alex blinked. "You'll do it?"

Jen smiled faintly. "For a recon. mission you need someone able to blend in to the time period. Lucas, Trip and I have that skill without requiring any kind of memory enhancement or training. Lucas is better at research, Trip is better with computers." Jen finished with a shrug.

"You're the best officer for the task," Alex agreed. "That doesn't mean you have to do it."

"You also said you can't trust anyone outside that list of people you named. Who else are you going to get if I don't do it?" Alex opened his mouth, then closed it again and nodded. "I'll do it."

Alex glanced up at the chronometer on the wall. "In that case, there are some things I need to organise here first...you need to pack..." He looked back at her. "You leave at eighteen hundred hours."

"Eighteen hundred?!" Jen exclaimed. A glance at the chronometer told her that was barely three hours away.

"It's that urgent."

"How are you going to explain that?"

Alex smiled ruefully. "I won't need to. Time Force gossip is already wondering how long it'll be before you're at my throat...or I'm at yours."

Jen slowly shook her head. "Don't they have anything better to do?"

Alex shrugged. "Is two hours long enough for you to collect your gear?" he asked, returning to her imminent departure. Jen nodded. "OK. Meet me here at seventeen hundred. Privacy lock cancel, authorisation Juliet Red Two."

"Privacy lock deactivated," the computer announced.

"You can leave the mission brief here and collect it at seventeen hundred." Alex murmured. "Dismissed."

"Sir." Jen nodded once and headed out of the office.

~*~

Jen glanced around her apartment.

It was funny, now that she had time to pack and consider what she was doing; she had no idea what she wanted to take with her on this trip to the twenty first century. Doing things on the spur of the moment had some clear advantages. She realised with a dull jolt that there truly had been nothing she'd actively missed from this apartment when she'd been in 2001.

_Alex is going to think you're weird if you turn up at Time Force HQ without any kind of baggage,_ she reminded herself.

She groaned and forced herself to walk over to the closet and pull out her duffle bag. If nothing else, she was determined that at least this time round she would have enough underwear.

That had been quite entertaining, Jen mused. She and Katie had very quickly ganged up on Wes and demanded he show them the nearest clothes shop. He had been reasonably OK with that -- until he realised that she and Katie were making straight for the lingerie department. Jen had never pegged Wes as someone who got easily embarrassed, but he had at that -- particularly seeing as they'd had to drag him into the department since it was his credit card that had paid for the assorted, necessary purchases.

Underwear duly packed, Jen turned her attention to the rest of her clothing. Considering how long she'd been in 2001 last time round, she actually had surprisingly little in the way of proper early twenty first century clothing. A couple of skirts, a couple of tops and only one pair of leggings. She frowned. _Have to make sure the first thing I do is buy a pair of jeans._

What few items of thirtieth century clothing that she thought she could get away with also went into the duffle bag, along with a pair of tennis shoes and her knee high boots -- they weren't terribly practical but Jen was aware they might be useful.

Clothing dealt with, Jen moved on to the bathroom to pack up a few toiletries. Her makeup -- most of which was actually twenty first century anyway -- was put into its case from being strewn across the counter and the case went into the bag. It was followed by her toothbrush and paste. She glanced at the shower gel and shampoo and decided against it -- they were too thirtieth century to be a good idea. Besides, it wasn't as if shower gel was hard to get. Lastly, she collected her hairbrush and a couple of spare hair bands and clips and added them to the bag.

She moved back into her main room and took another look round. Was that it? Her eyes fell on the small, lop-eared dog that her parents had given to her as a baby that -- for some reason -- she'd named Gus. Wes and Eric would undoubtedly tease her as unmercifully as the trainee Time Force officers had if she took Gus with her but...

It was the only thing she had left to remember her parents by.

Nodding, she picked up Gus and added him to the bag. Let Wes and Eric laugh if they dared.

~*~

At seventeen hundred, Jen returned to Alex's office only to find him standing at the door, mission brief datapad in hand. Before saying anything, he handed her the datapad and she tucked it into her bag.

"This way," he gestured, pointing down the hall, in the direction of the Technical department. "We have to pick up your paperwork."

"Paperwork, sir?" Jen echoed.

"An authentic driver's license for the time period -- although it won't stand up to a full security check," Alex added, "but I know **you** won't get caught speeding."

"Unlike Lucas," Jen finished, unable to repress a snicker.

"Unlike Lucas, " Alex agreed. "There's also an assortment of identity documents for the time period, including a US Passport and a birth certificate. Again, they won't stand up to serious scrutiny but they will serve your purposes."

Jen nodded. "So don't get myself into a position where I have to prove my identity if I can help it. Right?"

Alex grinned. "Right."

He led her into one of the backrooms of the Time Force headquarters where Technical had set up all manner of antiquated print machinery. One of the officers in the room looked up at Alex.

"Here you go, sir," she said, handing Alex a number of documents. "Just need to take a couple of photos for the passport and driver's license."

Alex nodded. "OK." 

"This way," ushered the officer. Jen followed her lead across the print room to an enclosed corner in which a camera was set up. "If you can just take a seat," the officer explained, pointing at the stool standing between camera and back wall, "and look straight towards me." Jen did as she was asked. "And smile."

The process took only a couple of seconds and then Jen was sent back to wait with Alex while the pictures were developed and attached to the relevant pieces of paper. Minutes later and the officer reappeared with both passport and license card.

"Here you go."

"Thank you," Alex answered. "This way," he added, and led Jen out of the print room. "There's also a couple of bits of hardware that you will need," he continued once they were back in the hallway.

"Sir?"

"Firstly," Alex explained, "you need your morpher." Jen felt a surge of relief to know that she would be getting that back. "Second," Alex continued, pushing open the door of another Technical lab, "you'll need a modified chronoblaster."

Jen recognised this lab as the weapons test bay. She had been shown this lab when she'd been a Cadet before they'd been invited to select which department they wished to apply for. Before Jen could say anything, however, another officer popped up.

"Here you go, sir, as you requested," said the man. He opened up the yellow hardcase he was holding to display what appeared to be a small hand gun of the variety Jen recognised as being popular in Wes' time along with a leather holster, matching belt and a device Jen couldn't put a name to. The technician took out the 'gun'. "It works exactly the same way a standard blaster works -- pull the trigger to fire; spin the barrel clockwise to dial up the power setting, counter-clockwise to reduce the power. Power cell is in the 'clip'." So saying, the technician depressed a button in the butt of the blaster to reveal a standard chronoblaster power cell. "Recharging is a bit more complicated," the technician continued. "On the primitive voltage supply, it will take twenty four hours, so there's a spare power cell and this," he pointed at the device Jen didn't recognise, "is an adapter. The tri-pronged section plugs into an electrical socket; the single pronged end plugs into this jack." And he pointed to a small socket in the top of the power cell.

"OK, thank you," Alex replied.

The technician smiled, returned everything to the case, closed it and handed it to Alex. "Most fun I've had in a long time, doing that, sir -- just let me know when you need anything else."

Alex smiled. "Will do."

He turned round and led Jen back out of the lab.

"Where now?" Jen asked as she followed Alex through the building.

"Time Ship bay 2. It's prep'd and ready for you to leave. Waiting with it should be a holoscreen -- you need to file a regular report on your reconnaissance, of course."

"Of course." 

"And, so should your morpher," Alex added. "Probably along with someone from Technical waiting for you to sign it out." He sounded about impressed with the regs. about the morphers as Jen had been when Captain Logan had explained it to her.

"Sir."

At that moment, they came out into the time ship bay. As Alex had predicted, there was the member of Technical, with two hardcases at his feet. 

"Ah, Major Collins." The Technical officer looked relieved. "Here are the two items you requisitioned. One holoscreen and one morpher. If you can just..." Jen watched in amusement as Alex grimaced and obligingly applied his thumbprint to the datapad being proffered. "Thank you, sir."

With that, the Technical officer departed rapidly.

"Been scaring the help, I see," Jen muttered.

Alex shrugged. "I can't help it if the regs. are just plain stupid." He sighed. "If you go and get changed, I'll program the autopilot and load up."

Jen nodded and headed into the small changing area in the bay. She debated what she was going to change into for a second, then decided that, while a skirt would look smarter, her leggings were more comfortable. She quickly changed into them and combined them with her uniform undershirt, her leather jacket and the tennis shoes. After a second's thought, she added her uniform boots to her bag then folded up the uniform pants and jacket and carried them, along with her bag, back out into the main bay.

"What have you done with your uniform?" Alex asked when he spotted her.

"It's here," Jen replied, holding out the pants and jacket.

"OK. I'll make sure it doesn't get mislaid." He tucked the folded garments under his arm. "The ship's set for departure in five minutes and is set to land in the usual place in Silverhills so that you can hook up with Wes and Eric. **Everything** you need is in the datapad."

_Which means there's some encrypted stuff about Merck and Biocon on there as well,_ Jen realised, nodding.

"The last thing is, in the document pack is five hundred dollars so that you're not struggling until you've made contact with Wes and Eric. You might be able to do that straight away -- or it might take a couple of days. I don't know. I'd rather play safe and know you can afford a motel room for a couple of nights." Alex smiled faintly. "You can't rely on bumping into a friendly stranger two trips in a row."

  
"No, true."

For a second, Jen thought he was going to offer her a hug before she departed, but he settled for extending a hand. "Good luck. And keep me updated."

  
Jen shook his hand. "Thank you sir, I will." She turned to board the time ship. On a whim, she looked over her shoulder and added, "I won't let you down."

Alex nodded. "I know you won't."

The entry closed behind her and as she took her seat in the control room, carefully stowing her bag beneath the table, she heard the roar of the turbines as they started up.

As she felt the ship lift up she couldn't help but think, _Here I go again..._

TO CHAPTER TWO...


	3. Chapter 2 - Fancy Meeting You Here

Disclaimer: Eric, Wes, Jen and Mr Collins don't belong to me (borrowed from BVE without permission; no harm, no foul, no money made). Ben Johnson also doesn't belong to me (borrowed from Ekat with grateful thanks). The plot, Gina Thomas and assorted (unnamed) Silver Guardians do belong to me and while I'm happy to share, asking me first would be nice.

Many thanks to Ekat for the assorted help, beta'ing and moral support. Also to Gamine for beta'ing and moral support. Also to Selma and Ecolea for the assorted advice and moral support, not to mention allowing me to bounce sections off you to see whether they work. Ladies, you're the greatest.

Please offer feedback, it tells me how I'm doing -- glad you guys are enjoying it so far.

~*~

Max Force -- Fancy Meeting You Here

The sound of blaster fire was nothing new to the citizens of Silverhills. After four months of attack from Ransik and his assorted mutants, where anything could happen -- and usually did -- a blaster shoot out barely even raised an eyebrow much less sparked a panic. And if anyone was inclined to panic, the sight of a number of black-uniformed troopers surrounding the warehouse reminded them that while the Time Force Rangers might have faded into history, the city was far from unprotected.

One of the troopers, a stocky, dark haired man, snapped off a number of shots at the occupants of the warehouse before dropping down behind the packing case he was using as cover. "Remind me again why I do this," he muttered to no-one in particular.

"Because not doing it drives you absolutely wacko," responded other, nearby trooper -- a large, black man. "Sir," he added belatedly.

The stocky man shook his head. "When I want your opinion, Johnson, I'll ask for it." But the expression on his face -- rueful amusement -- was at odds with the words.

Johnson couldn't help but smirk at the reply. "Sir."

With another shake of his head, the stocky man pressed the transmit button on his earpiece. "Beta team -- report."

"Beta team in position," came the response, "and we are good to go."

"Acknowledged. Wait for my mark. Command out." Glancing up at Johnson, he said, "Ready to draw fire?"

Johnson smirked again. "Sure thing, sir."

The stocky man nodded. "OK. Three...two...one..." He depressed the transmit button. "Now!"

At the command, he bounced back to his feet and started firing in tandem with Johnson. The objective wasn't to actually shoot the occupants now, just keep them thoroughly distracted. Beta team, who had located another entrance to the building, would do the capture.

"C'mon Wes," the stocky man muttered, firing again and again, "don't leave us out to dry here."

Beside him, Johnson bit back a curse as a shot from the occupants of the warehouse chewed up the edge of the packing case, sending a shower of splinters in his direction.

"Y'ok?"

"Nothing antiseptic won't fix," Johnson retorted. "Where are they?"

"We've gotta give them time."

Johnson grunted. "Next time, find someone else to play decoy."

"Aw c'mon," the stocky man retorted, "you know you enjoy it better than you do sneaking in the back route." But even as he said it, he heard two clicks on his headset. "Stand down -- they've got 'em."

"Sir." There was no mistaking the relief in Johnson's voice as he holstered his blaster.

The stocky man followed suit and headed towards the warehouse. "Beta team -- report," he called.

"All hostiles taken out," reported one of beta team who was making his way out of the warehouse. "Stunned and ready for SPD to pick up."

The stocky man nodded in acceptance of the report but frowned. "Where's Wes?"

The trooper blanched visibly. "Uh..."

"Never mind." The stocky man shook his head. "Head for the SUVs and head in."

"Sir." The trooper offered a salute and gratefully vanished.

The stocky man shook his head again as he entered the warehouse, passing another couple of beta team heading the other way. Just inside the door were the four would-be gangsters -- stunned unconscious, handcuffed and awaiting pick up by the Silverhills PD -- being guarded by a fourth member of the six man beta team.

"Please tell me I'm not gonna have to tell your dad..." the stocky man started to mutter sotto voce but breaking his train of thought came a string of creative cursing. He found his mouth curving upwards. Following the sounds, he found the final two members of the team.

"Will ya sit still!" yelled the trooper on his feet in exasperation. "You're not helping."

"And if you touch my shoulder once more I will deck you!" retorted the sandy-haired trooper sitting on the floor, who was clutching his left shoulder in such a way that told the stocky man what had, like as not, happened.

"Do I want to know?" he asked laconically announcing his presence.

The trooper on his feet jumped. "Commander Myers! I..."

The man on the floor groaned. "Eric."

"Head for the SUVs," Eric ordered. "I'll see to him."

"Yes sir."

"Oh great," groaned the man on the floor.

Eric waited until the other trooper was out of earshot. "You wanna tell me what happened, Wes?" he asked, crouching beside Wes. "And le'me look at your shoulder."

"I screwed up," Wes replied, wincing as Eric started to probe the wound. "I didn't spot the fact that they had a guy up on the catwalk until the last second."

Eric lifted his eyebrows. "I don't see any of our guys dead and this," Eric added, "is only a minor flesh wound. Hurts like hell but not serious."

"But I didn't spot the guy..."

"Quit the self-flagellation. OK, you didn't spot the guy until the last second -- that's still a second quicker than most people would have done, **and** you took him out. OK, ya got winged in the process. Shit happens. Any day this is the worst injury ya get is a good day in this line of work."

"I guess."

"If you wanna worry about something," Eric continued, getting to his feet, "worry about where they're getting the cyclosabres from."

"Yeah." Wes sighed and shook his head. "That's what -- the fifth gang this month?"

"Sixth, I think. Think you can stand now?"

"Yeah." Eric proffered a hand. Wes accepted the help.

"C'mon -- SPD will probably be looking for us to make the usual statement..."

Almost on cue, "Commander Myers?" someone called.

Eric sighed and rolled his eyes. "Oh boy. More mindless bureaucracy. Remind me again, why I do this job?"

~*~

I hate time travel.

It was the first thing that occurred to Jen as she slowly sat up in her seat as the Time Ship came in to land. The only two occasions when time travel hadn't had a physical affect on her, her mind had been firmly occupied by Wes.

Wes!

A thrill of something ran through her as she recalled that not only was she back in his time, she had been given tacit permission to meet up with him. It was only when she realised that the trembling in her hands had nothing to do with the after affects of her journey that she realised the 'something' was nervousness.

"Time ship will be departing in twenty -- that's two zero -- minutes."

The computer's announcement helped to quell the sudden bout of nerves as it reminded her that she had a very limited time to get herself together and to unload her gear from the time ship.

Or more likely, empty the hardcases into my bag and just take that -- no way I can carry three hardcases on my own.

"Time ship will be departing in nineteen -- that's one nine -- minutes."

I know -- put a sock in it!

Undoing the safety harness, Jen slid out of her seat and crossed to where Alex had stowed the three hardcases. Opening the first one, she found her morpher and the collection of documents -- Alex must have put them in there for safekeeping. Strapping her morpher back onto her wrist, she gathered the documents together. The five hundred dollars went into her jacket pocket while the rest of the documents went onto the control table, ready to be added to the duffel bag.

"Time ship will be departing in eighteen -- that's one eight -- minutes."

Wish I knew how to shut that thing up.

She reached for the next hardcase -- that contained the modified chrono-blaster. Threading the holster onto the belt, she holstered the blaster and put on the belt, careful to keep the blaster at the small of her back. It felt strange having the weight there rather than on her thigh but it was better concealed there. The spare power cell and adapter went onto the table with the documents.

"Time ship will be departing in seventeen -- that's one seven -- minutes."

It wouldn't be so annoying if the voice didn't sound quite so smug.

The third and final hardcase contained the holoscreen. That would have to be packed into the duffel bag very carefully to avoid damage -- and the best way to do that, Jen realised with a groan, would be to repack the whole bag.

Damn.

Carefully she carried it across to the table, then picked up her bag. Hastily, she emptied out the contents of the bag and started over. In went the holoscreen. Next followed her uniform boots and the knee-highs. Then followed her assorted clothing and toiletries. Lastly the documents, mission datapad, spare power cell and adapter. It was a tight fit, and the bag was now verging on being too heavy for her to carry, but it was done.

"Time ship will be departing in ten minutes."

OK -- I'm outta here.

Jen took a last glance around the ship and then disembarked. Part of her was tempted to wait the ten minutes and watch the ship lift off but the rest of her was more interested in heading into town.

Gonna be a long walk.

~*~

Tentatively, Wes rolled his shoulder. The pain had died down quite a bit, particularly once the shock of the wound had worn off. He felt like a complete idiot.

_First day Eric's back in the field and I go and screw up,_ he thought, savagely aiming his first punch at the punchbag. _I know what happened, I got cocky._ Punch. _Wanted to prove to him I could do the job._ Punch. _Did exactly the same thing with Jen._ Punch, punch. _Haven't I learned my lesson?_

"It's dead already, man," commented a voice behind him.

Wes glanced over his shoulder to see Ben Johnson casually leaning against the wall. "Hey Ben."

"How's the shoulder?"

"It's OK."

"And the ego?" Wes lifted an eyebrow. Ben chuckled. "Don't bother. You 'n' the boss ain't that different. I know what he does when he thinks he's messed up. And well...here you are."

"Here I am," Wes agreed, turning back to the punchbag.

"Y'don't have to prove yourself to him, you know," Ben continued, raising his voice just enough to make himself heard over the sound of Wes' fists as they connected with the punchbag.

"I know."

"Do you?"

Wes stopped hitting the bag and turned to fully face Ben. "You a psyc major by any chance?"

Ben grinned and shook his head. "Criminal Justice. But I don't need to be -- not around you and Commander Myers."

"I do know I don't have to prove myself. Doesn't seem to stop me from trying," Wes admitted ruefully. "And all it's got me is a sore shoulder and..." he nodded, "a damaged ego."

"Look at it this way," said Ben, "you've been in the job now...what. Three months?"

"About that."

"And in that time, Commander Myers has been physically active for...?"

"Two weeks."

"And officially back in command as opposed being stuck behind a desk?"

"One day." Wes wondered where this was all leading.

"And what've you been doing in that three month period while Commander Myers has been stuck driving himself nuts behind his desk?"

Wes couldn't help but smile at both the question and the mental image of Eric stuck behind his desk. The enforced rest period **had** been wearing on Eric's sanity, that much Wes knew for sure. "Acting field commander." Wes finally answered Ben's question.

Ben spread his hands in a 'there you go' motion. "He already knows you can do the job. More to the point, he trusts you to do the job, your dad not withstanding." Ben smiled ruefully, "And trust me," he added, "you'll know when you really **do** screw up."

"That," Wes agreed, picking up his towel and swiping it over his face, "I can well imagine." He draped the towel around his neck. "Thanks."

Ben grinned. "Any time, man."

~*~

Jen sighed as she sat down on the bed of her motel room.

_Well that's tasks one and two completed,_ she mused.

The first task had been to find a motel room -- somewhere cheap and, for preference, relatively central. That had been easy to accomplish, as it had turned out, but the second task...

_I never knew it could be so difficult to buy a pair of jeans!_ she groused silently.

In the end, she had wound up in Wal-Mart. Everywhere else seemed to be charging hundreds of dollars and every single fibre of Jen's body balked at paying that much. On the plus side of buying them in Wal-Mart she'd been able to pick up a few other bits and pieces -- including a snack dinner when her stomach reminded her that she'd not had any lunch.

If I'm going to go and see Wes and Eric tomorrow, I need to have a plan of action ready for them.

Forcing herself to stand up again, she crossed to her bag and pulled out the datapad. How would Alex have encrypted the data about Biocon and Merck? She grinned faintly.

"Computer run decryption routine TFCO."

"Authorisation required."

"Authorisation Juliet Echo November."

  
"Authorisation accepted. Two files found. Decrypting."

It was tempting to accuse Alex of being unimaginative with his passwords, but considering the circumstances Jen knew he had to set it to something she'd be able to figure out easily.

"Decryption complete."

OK -- let's see what we know and what we can do with it...

~*~

"This is hopeless."

Eric looked up. "No luck, huh?"

Wes shook his head, glaring poisonously in the direction of the SPD police reports. "No. Wherever these punks are getting the cyclosabres from, they aren't telling the cops and there doesn't seem to be any kind of pattern to where the gangs are coming from, either."

Eric slowly shook his head. "This is nuts."

"Yeah. SPD want to pin it to Ransik -- say that he left 'em behind."

"You were with Time Force when they cleared up," Eric replied, "how likely is it?"

Wes sighed. "It isn't."

Eric groaned. "Well if SPD won't investigate it, we're just going to have to."

Wes nodded. "I'll make a start." He yawned, rolled his shoulders and winced.

Eric grimaced inwardly -- he should have sent Wes home hours ago. "Tomorrow."

"Huh?"

"You heard me. Wrap it up. Go home. Get some sleep." Wes opened his mouth to argue, but Eric shook his head. "Getting winged by blaster fire is not fun and if you're going to try and figure out this mess, you're gonna need to feel fresh."

Wes smiled ruefully. "OK -- I am feeling beat -- I'll go home. On one condition."

Eric groaned. "What is it with you -- why has there **always** got to be a condition?"

"Habit."

"So?"

"You go home too."

Eric blinked. "What?"

"C'mon. You've only just been released by the docs to go back to physical work -- didn't they tell you to look after yourself?"

Eric groaned again. "OK, quit it -- yes, I'll go home." Glancing up at the clock, he smiled. "I have to go home shortly anyway -- promised Kimberly I'd baby-sit Alice for her tonight." Wes chuckled. "What?"

"You're a fraud, Eric."

"Excuse me?"

"You're a fraud."

Eric sat back in his seat and looked at Wes. "OK, hot shot. How do you work that one out?"

"Simple," Wes retorted. "You act tough. You're an ex-Marine. You've faced down Ransik and god knows what else -- and a seven year old girl has got you wrapped around her little finger."

"And you say that like it's a bad thing," Eric retorted.

Wes slowly stood up and started to make for the office door. "Or maybe, it's Alice's mom who's got you chained."

"Collins get outta here before I make you leave," Eric growled. "Kimberly is just my neighbour."

Wes shook his head. "Don't make the same mistake I made, Eric."

"What?"

"Don't let her slip away."

That was when Eric realised that Wes was being perfectly serious. It was the first time he had even made the obliquest references to Jen in the last three months and for just a fraction of a moment, Eric could see how much the last three months had hurt Wes. Then it was gone. Eric could almost see the effort it took Wes to mask the loneliness. Eric wanted to say something in reply but before could so much as open his mouth, Wes said,

"Well, see you tomorrow."

And with that, he was gone. Eric slowly shook his head. Life wasn't fair. Wes had found the love of his life only to lose her because they were born in different times while he... Eric snorted. Why on earth would someone like Kimberly want to go out with someone like him?

He shook his head again, dismissing the question from his mind as immaterial. Another look up at the clock told him that he really would have to get going -- Kimberly had asked him to be there at six tonight and he needed to pick up some dinner on the way home. A faint smile crept across his face. Maybe he could pick up some ice cream, too as a treat for Alice. It would get him a lecture from Kimberly for spoiling her daughter, but that would be worth seeing Alice's delight.

~*~

Jen slowly sat up.

_Can't believe I **did** that,_ she thought ruefully, easing the kinks out of her spine. Looking round, she realised it was the following morning. Somewhere along the line of her studying the files Alex had provided, she'd fallen asleep slumped over the desk.

I'm seeing Wes soon!

The realisation hit her like a tonne of bricks, forcing all thoughts about the stupidity of falling asleep in mid-research out of her mind, and was followed by a tumult of emotions. There was a thrill of anticipation, mixed with a good quantity of fear. Hundreds of 'what if's' started to pound through her mind and she realised her hands were shaking again.

_You're being ridiculous;_ she tried to tell herself, but that seemed to do little good. She was acutely nervous.

And then a new thought struck her: _I don't even know how to find him!_

Panic started to take over from nervousness.

_Eric is bound to still be a Silver Guardian,_ she reminded herself. _He's bound to know where Wes is._ But what if Eric wasn't still a Silver Guardian...after all, a lot could have changed in three months. _It's either start with the Silver Guardians or go visit Wes' dad._

Of the two options, Wes' father was probably better for finding Wes, but...the thought of facing Mr Collins was intimidating to say the least.

Silver Guardians it is.

With that decision made, she pushed her chair away from the table and stood up. _I need a shower._

~*~

An hour or so later and Jen found herself staring at the Silver Guardians' home base, still trying to quell her nerves.

Why the hell am I nervous about this? This is Eric. He doesn't bite!

But the traitorous little voice in the back of her mind reminded her that it had been three months since her last visit to this place -- a lot could have changed. For all she knew, Eric wasn't even in this city any more.

"Well it's no good staring at it," she finally muttered. "I have to get hold of Eric and Wes and this is the best place to start."

Forcing herself to walk into the building, she headed across the spacious reception area towards the receptionist. It didn't surprise her to see that this was not the same woman as had been here the last time she had visited.

"May I help you?" enquired the receptionist, looking bored.

"Uh...I'm looking for..." _Crap! What do I call him?! _"Eric Myers."

"And do you have an appointment?"

"Uh, no...I..." Jen floundered.

"Then you'll have to make one," the receptionist continued, her bored tone taking on a smug quality to it.

"But I..."

"You need an appointment," said the receptionist. "He is a very busy man -- I could fit you in next week if that would be all right?"

Jen's temper frayed. After screwing up her courage and swallowing her nerves she was not in a mood to be put off. She leaned against the desk, looming over the mousy looking woman. "No, it would not be all right. I need to see Eric today. Now if at all possible."

She had to give the receptionist credit -- the woman wasn't intimidated. "I'm sorry. There's no free appointments today."

For one insane moment, Jen considered pulling the blaster that was nestled against her spine. But while that would get people's attention, it would be the wrong people and for all the wrong reasons. Counting to ten slowly, she forced her anger down. "Look. I don't want to see him for long. I just need five minutes," she pleaded.

"I'm afraid that won't be possible," the receptionist answered. "Now will you make an appointment for next week or do I have to call security?"

There was a pregnant pause. Jen frantically wracked her brain trying to come up with some other approach but before she could say anything, a new voice entered the fray,

"Ladies, what seems to be the problem?"

Jen almost giggled. Of all the people to become involved in this...

"I was just trying to explain to this young woman, Mr Collins, that Mr Myers is very busy and..."

"I believe this young woman only wants five minutes of his time and I happen to know I'm his next appointment."

"Sir."

"Now, ms...?"

"Scotts," Jen answered, turning to face Wes' father.

If he was surprised by her identity, he didn't show it. "All right, Ms Scotts, let's see if we can't get this all cleared up." He smiled. "This way."

Jen followed his lead into the heart of the building.

"I take it," Wes' father said conversationally, "that Eric doesn't know you're here?"

"Uh, no, sir."

She heard him chuckle. "And here I thought I was just going to have a budget meeting. This day's looking up."

Jen took a sidelong glance at Wes' father and wondered. Wes had as good as said his father had changed after the face off with Ransik but this was the first time Jen had seen it for herself. Her main memory of the man she was following was of a very stern, forbidding, hard assed businessman -- but that was clearly not who he was now. _If it ever was_ Jen mused. _You only met him once or twice -- other than that all you have to go on is Wes' opinion._

"Here we are." Mr Collins indicated the door they'd come to a stop in front of. "Would you like to go first -- or would you like me to?"

"Oh. Um..." Jen's tongue seemed to knot up now that the moment had arrived.

Mr Collins chuckled again. "All right."

Before Jen could wonder about the statement, Mr Collins knocked on the door.

"Come in!" yelled a slightly muffled voice that Jen identified as Eric's.

Mr Collins opened the door. "Eric, Wesley -- good morning."

_Wesley?! What the...?_ Before Jen could fully process Mr Collins' greeting, she heard a new voice.

"Hey dad." 

Jen felt her heart skip a beat on hearing that voice.

"Mr Collins."

"Before we get down to business," Mr Collins continued, "there's someone who's come rather a long way to see you Eric -- and, I suspect, you as well, Wesley."

That was her cue, Jen realised. She found herself walking through the doorway, still hidden by Mr Collins, aware that even as she entered, Wes was asking,

"Dad? What do you mean?"

"I mean..." Mr Collins stepped aside and Jen found herself face to face with Wes.

"Hi Wes," she managed and then her vocal chords officially went on strike.

Wes looked stunned. Come to think of it, so did Eric, but his reaction was of minor importance as far as Jen was concerned. She could only watch as Wes' mouth opened and shut a few times without anything more coherent than a couple of strangulated 'eeps' coming out. There were so many things that she wanted to say. 'Good to see you.' 'I've missed you.' 'I'm sorry.' But none of them would come out.

"Ahem."

"Would you two get a room -- some of us have work to do ya know."

It was Eric's dry and slightly sarcastic comment that finally managed to cut through her paralysis, even if it did also make her blush. Of course it had the same affect on Wes and for a second Jen thought all her higher brain functions were going to go out to lunch at the decidedly cute sight of Wes blushing to the roots of his hair.

"What are you doing here?" Wes finally managed to ask.

Jen was more than somewhat relieved at the chance to get her mind onto business. "It's kind of a long story...and I know you guys are busy so...um..."

"How about," Mr Collins suggested, "Eric and I deal with the budget meeting -- I believe that's the only pressing thing in your schedules?"

"Uh-huh." Eric nodded.

"Once that's done, I'll clear the rest of your appointments with Gina and the three of you can talk about whatever it is you need to talk about," Mr Collins continued. "Eric?"

With a grin that was verging on a leer in Jen's mind, Eric nodded. "I think conference room one's empty right now." And before Jen could protest, both Eric and Mr Collins had departed, closing the office door behind them.

"Well that was subtle," Wes commented dryly.

"Right up there with Katie and Lucas," Jen agreed, glad to find some neutral conversation.

Unfortunately that was as far as that topic went and Jen found that once again her vocal chords had gone on strike, and apparently -- to judge from his silence -- so had Wes'. Gradually the absurdity of the whole situation seeped into Jen's mind and she found herself giggling.

"I'm glad you find me amusing," Wes muttered a little petulantly, but he softened the words with a small smile.

"I'm sorry -- I just...wasn't expecting you here...or..." Jen gestured towards the Silver Guardian uniform.

Wes shrugged, clearly a little self-conscious. "Eric's idea -- he's only just gotten medical clearance to go back into field ops...the Cyclobots and Doomtron really did a number on him."

"Oh."

There was another awkward silence and Jen found herself giggling again.

"This is silly, isn't it," Wes commented, also chuckling.

"Yeah -- very." Jen made an effort to stop laughing. "Can we start this conversation over?"

Wes smiled. "Sure -- as long as I get to do this first..."

TO BE CONTINUED...


	4. Chapter 3 - Getting Acquainted

Disclaimer: Wes, Jen, Eric, Nadira, Trip, Lucas and Alex belong to BVE; Jefferson Smith and N-Tek belong to Mattel, Sony/Tristar and Foundation Imaging. They're borrowed without permission. Marissa Detourny, Biocon, Merck Taylor, Eric's back-story and the operational set up of Time Force are mine -- you're welcome to borrow but please ask me first.

Please note: All the details of Eric's back-story can be found in my story _Scars_ and it will help if you've read that.

Many thanks to Selma (for letting me play in her universe and allowing me to bounce bits of mine off her), Ekat (for putting up with me -- not always an easy task), Ecolea (for likewise putting up with me) and Gamine (for the advice and help). You guys are wonderful.

Please offer feedback -- it tells me how I'm doing

~*~

Max Force -- Getting Acquainted 

Wes saw bemusement in Jen's expression. He simply smiled.

Before she could say anything, he stepped closer to her. One arm snaked around her waist while the other went around her shoulders, gently pulling her into an embrace. And then he leaned in and kissed her.

For a second, she was frozen in his arms and he wondered whether he'd scared her completely. He was about to pull away when he felt her hands slowly creep around his sides until both rested against his back, gently returning the embrace. Emboldened, he started to gently probe with his tongue, coaxing her mouth to open.

Her lips parted and he slipped his tongue inside. As he started to gently explore her mouth, a feeling of 'rightness' -- of belonging -- came over Wes. There was no way he was going to let Jen walk back out of his life whenever her business was finished. Not this time.

Eventually, the urge to breathe meant that the kiss had to come to an end and reluctantly, Wes pulled away, but only far enough to break the kiss. Jen made a soft sound in the back of her throat, somewhere between a purr and a moan as she moved to rest her head against his shoulder.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," Wes finally murmured.

"Probably about as long as I've wanted you to do that," Jen admitted quietly.

"I'm half expecting to wake up any second and find out this was a dream."

Wes felt Jen's shoulders shake a little as she chuckled. "You might wish it was when I tell you why I'm here."

Wes found himself smiling faintly in spite of her words. "That bad, huh?"

"Worse."

"Worse than Ransik?"

Wes felt Jen pull away slightly as she met his gaze. "It could be."

"Have the others come back as well?" Jen shook her head. "So it's just you, me and Eric, huh?"

"Yeah."

Wes found himself grinning. "Whoever it is -- whatever it is -- doesn't stand a chance."

~*~

Nadira was still not sure what part had surprised her more. Not finding herself in cryo-prison, having Trip as her parole officer or standing face to face with a man she had seen die. As she was currently in Major Collins' office, she settled for the latter.

"I don't know that I can really help you much," she said quietly.

Major Collins nodded, his face impassive. "Did you ever meet Merck Taylor or Biocon?"

"Meet, no." She shook her head. "I've heard of them both, but daddy tended to keep me away from his associates."

There was a flicker of something in Major Collins' expression, but Nadira had not spent enough time amongst humans to have any real idea of what it might have been, particularly as it vanished almost as quickly as it appeared. Aloud, all Major Collins said was, "Ah." She watched as he paced towards the window of his office, his back towards her. "You say you've heard of them both." He half turned so that he was looking at her over his shoulder. "What kind of things have you heard?"

"Not much," she admitted. "Mostly about Biocon. I know daddy didn't like him very much -- something about..." Nadira frowned and then shook her head.

"Shendraville?" Major Collins suggested.

  
Nadira nodded slowly. "I think so. It was just before I was born, I know that."

"I'd have thought Shendraville would have been something your father would have approved of," Major Collins observed neutrally.

"Even daddy had limits," Nadira retorted. "He helped turn Venomark in, remember."

"Alex..."

Nadira started. She'd all but forgotten Trip's presence.

There was another flash of something across Major Collins' face. "I'm sorry -- that was out of line." He turned back to the window. "Did your father associate with Biocon much?"

  
"No -- like I said, daddy didn't like him very much."

"And what do you know about Biocon?"

"Only that he's a terrorist and a blackmailer."

Nadira couldn't help but give a startled squeak as Major Collins suddenly whirled around to face her fully. "A blackmailer?"

"I don't know all the details," she replied, "I was only a little girl but...I think Shendraville was part of a blackmail plot."

"Who against?"

"I don't know."

"Time Force?"

  
"I don't know."

"Alex!" Trip interjected.

Nadira watched as Major Collins slowly regained control. "I'm sorry." He sighed and sat down. "Do you know anything else about this blackmail plot?"

Nadira thought long and hard before finally shaking her head. "No."

For a second, she expected another outburst, but none came. "What about Merck Taylor? What do you know about him?"

"I know that he's a human -- and a Time Force officer."

Major Collins nodded. "Anything else?"

Nadira frowned. "I know daddy received information from him, not long before you captured him at the warehouse."

"Do you know what about?"

"Yes." Nadira nodded. "The information was all the details of the planned trap." She watched as Major Collins' face paled. "Getting captured was part of daddy's plan."

"But Taylor was serving out East," Trip commented. "How would he have known about Captain Logan's operation?"

"I don't know. Nadira -- do you have any ideas?"

"No, I'm sorry." Again she waited for an outburst but all that happened was that Major Collins groaned and turned back to the window. "My daddy would be able to tell you more."

"I know -- unfortunately, I'm not in a position to ask your father."

"Why not?" Nadira asked.

"Privacy lock, authorisation Alpha Red One."

Nadira glanced at Trip. "What's going on?"

"Privacy lock activated."

"Don't worry," Trip replied, smiling reassuringly. "It'll be OK."

But Nadira felt far from reassured. "What's going on?"

Major Collins slid into the seat behind his desk and fixed her with his gaze. "What I tell you now goes no further than this office. It cannot go beyond this office otherwise peoples' lives will be at stake -- and based on what you've told me, that could be more lives than I originally thought."

There was a seriousness about the words that struck Nadira, particularly when allied with a nod from Trip. "I won't say a word."

~*~

Jen didn't want to move from Wes' embrace. For the first time that she could remember, she felt totally safe. In some ways though, as perverse as it sounded, the feeling of safety scared her. _I've never let someone in this far...what happens if it goes wrong?_

"What's the matter?"

Jen shifted slightly to meet Wes' gaze. "Nothing."

He lifted an eyebrow. "Jen, you're shaking -- what's wrong?" Jen realised, to her horror, that she was trembling. "Jen?"

"It's silly," she murmured, looking away.

"That doesn't matter." Jen found her head being gently turned until she was meeting Wes' gaze again. "I want to help -- I can't do that if you don't tell me what's wrong." Jen chewed her lip. How on earth could she tell Wes that she was petrified? "What are you scared of?"

He leaned in and ghosted a kiss over her lips. Jen found herself whimpering when the touch was nothing more than that.

"Is this what you're scared of?" he asked softly.

He leaned down to nuzzle her neck. The feeling of his breath on her pulse-point sent her pulse skyrocketing and her head fell back, instinctively allowing him greater access.

"Is this what you're scared of?" he repeated, planting a trail of kisses up the line of her throat before claiming her mouth in another breath taking, soul searing kiss.

Jen didn't mean to melt into the kiss. She didn't mean to moan softly as the kiss deepened. She didn't mean to whimper when the kiss finally came to an end. She didn't mean to -- but she did all three anyway.

"**Is** this what you're scared of?"

"Yes," she finally whispered, expecting to see him look hurt at the revelation. Consequently, she was surprised when Wes just smiled.

"Me too," he admitted.

"You're scared?" she gasped.

He nodded. "I've never felt this way about anyone else." 

The thought that Wes was as scared and nervous as she was proved to be oddly comforting. "But..."

Wes shook his head. "I have never loved anyone the way I love you...I know in my heart that I will never love anyone else the way I love you." He planted another ghost kiss on her lips. "And I won't walk out on you."

Jen felt her throat close over. She wanted to make the same declaration but...

And then sparing her, the door opened.

"Oh geez..."

Jen buried her face in Wes' shoulder and started to laugh. She didn't think Eric had ever sounded quite as embarrassed.

"When I said get a room, I didn't quite mean this one," Eric mumbled.

"Sorry, Eric," Wes apologised.

"Knew I should have knocked first."

Jen risked a glance in Eric's direction and found her laughter increasing. The last time he'd looked so 'deer-in-the-headlightsy' had been at the Super Strong Gym.

There was a long, embarrassed moment before Eric finally pulled himself together enough to say, "Well -- I'm glad you guys are getting along so well but I don't think this was the **whole** reason Jen's come back in time."

Jen felt Wes sigh. "True." 

Part of her was disappointed when Wes pulled out of the embrace but the part that was still terrified by the depth of feeling was relieved at the chance to get a little space. 

"So, what's up?"

~*~

Alex studied Nadira, assessing her words and demeanour while trying to put out of his head the concept that someone had all but sold him down the river over Ransik's initial capture. Trip gave an imperceptible nod which Alex took to confirm that Nadira was telling the truth when she said she wouldn't say a word.

"Merck Taylor was declared a rogue Time Force officer five days ago," Alex began. Nadira didn't look terribly surprised. "The declaration came when evidence was found that highlighted Merck's association with Biocon -- amongst others. Unfortunately," he added, "five days ago, Merck Taylor escaped custody."

"I know -- it's been all the holonet's been talking about," Nadira commented.

Alex nodded. "What they don't know is that, with the aide of persons unknown within Time Force, Merck Taylor and Biocon have not only escaped jail, they've also escaped this century."

~*~

"And they've wound up here," Eric stated as Jen paused in her explanations.

She nodded. "Afraid so."

"You said," Wes observed, "that this was very likely worse than Ransik -- how is two escaped cons worse than Ransik and a prison full of mutants?"

Jen grimaced. "If it was anyone other than Biocon, I'd agree with you."

"But Biocon's different?" Eric queried.

"There was a town...located in what you guys call Virginia...called Shendraville. Population was, I think, around about one million -- maybe a little more than that. Average sorta place, really. At least, it was until 2980."

Wes glanced at Eric. "What happened then?"

"Biocon happened." There was a pause while Jen clearly gathered her thoughts. "You've heard of the term bio-terrorism?"

Wes was surprised when Eric snorted, "Never mind heard the term, nearly been a victim."

Jen looked mildly startled, but continued, "So I don't need to explain that?"

Wes shook his head. "No."

Jen nodded. "Biocon is a bio-terrorist. He'd been a small-time crook but on a scale of one to Ransik he wasn't too high in Time Force's sights at the time. Shendraville changed that. He released a short-lived, highly deadly, airborne bio-agent in the centre of Shendraville. Forty-eight hours later, one million people were reduced to one, six year old girl."

Wes stared in a combination of horror and fear. "He killed an entire town?!"

Jen nodded.

"And you guys let him get away?" Eric was incredulous.

"According to Time Force records," Jen replied, "he was killed in a shoot out in 2981."

"Clearly he wasn't."

Jen sighed and shook her head. "No."

"So what happened?" Wes asked.

"That is what Alex is attempting to find out," Jen answered. "He's got Lucas, Trip and Marissa Detourny -- I think you met her, Wes, when Time Force came and cleaned up the prison -- working on trying to uncover what's going on."

"Another Steelix?" Wes suggested, recalling the last rogue Time Force officer he had any dealings with.

"Worse," Jen replied.

"Steelix?" Eric queried.

"A Time Force officer who went rogue," Jen explained.

Wes noted that she omitted to tell Eric anything further about Steelix -- or her involvement with him. _I wonder what she's not telling us about Biocon,_ he mused.

"I see," said Eric in a tone of voice that suggested he knew full well he hadn't been told all the details but he was willing to live with it for now.

"Meanwhile the whole 'escape into the past' has been classified -- which is why I'm the only person who's been sent back, and on the pretext of a totally unrelated mission."

Wes nodded. "Why you?"

"Best officer for both jobs," Jen replied with a slight shrug. "The unrelated mission is an undercover one. Thanks to spending four months here last year, I have enough knowledge of this time to blend in, and...I know you both, which means I don't have to explain to you who I am -- or prove that I really am from Time Force."

"So lemme see if I've got this straight," said Eric. "You've been sent back here on the trail of one clearly dangerous criminal along with his partner, you've only got us as backup and you have to complete another mission on top."

Was watched as Jen nodded. "That's about the size of it."

"I'm in."

Wes blinked. "Just like that?" He had figured Eric would require some form of arm twisting before he agreed to help -- and to judge from Jen's expression, so had she.

"Wes, we're talking about a guy who can kill a million people in two days. Stopping guys like that was why I joined the Marines. I'm in."

Wes felt Jen's gaze fall on him. "I'm in -- do you have a plan?"

~*~

There was a long moment of silence as Major Collins' explanations came to an end. Nadira frowned as she tried to make sense of it all. There was obviously a reason why Major Collins had told her and drawn her into this covert mission.

"What do you need me to do?" she found herself asking. Major Collins looked startled. Beside her, she felt Trip smile. "There must be a reason why you've told me all this."

Major Collins nodded. "True enough," he admitted. "I can't force you to do this -- you're a free citizen, not a Time Force officer. But...you still have your father's contacts in the mutant underworld?"

Nadira nodded slowly. "Some of them." She thought she could see where this might be heading.

"How many of them would have known Biocon?"

Nadira gave a little shrug. "I won't know until I ask them." Again Major Collins looked startled. "I'm not stupid, sir," Nadira commented softly. "And I want to help." There was a muffled snort from Trip that she interpreted as stifled laughter, although she didn't dare check her suspicion. Major Collins, meanwhile, couldn't have looked more surprised. "I know," Nadira explained, "that I owe my freedom to Captain Scotts' testimony about me. She didn't have to do that -- and I would have understood it if she hadn't. But she did -- and I feel as though I owe her. If I can do something that helps her track down Biocon, then I want to do it."

"You're aware of the risks?"

Nadira smiled. "What risk? They'll tell me what I want to know just to get me to go away." Her smile turned into a grin. "No-one likes a brat -- but no-one offends the bratty daughter of Ransik...even if he is in Cryo-prison now."

~*~

Jen leaned against the edge of a convenient desk. "A plan..." She sighed. "Not really. I have **some** information on Biocon and Taylor -- but not much. All we actually know for sure is that, because of the timewarper Biocon and Taylor used, they landed up in this year and in this state."

"And it's a big state," said Eric dryly. "OK -- what's the cover mission?"

"It's some surveillance work in Del Oro Bay."

"Uh, why?" asked Wes, bemused. "There's nothing much **in** Del Oro Bay beyond the college and N-Tek."

Jen smiled faintly and nodded. "The Temporal section of Time Force continuously monitor the time stream for anomalies that might indicate something may have fallen through a time hole -- either accidentally or on purpose. When they find something, an officer gets sent to that time period to look into it and take action as necessary."

"And there's an anomaly reading for Del Oro Bay 2002?" said Wes dubiously.

Jen nodded. "Whole clutch of them, relating to N-Tek and the college. Three out of the four surveillance subjects are students, the fourth is Jefferson Smith..."

"The C.E.O. of N-Tek?!" Wes shook his head. "No way!"

"Every way," Eric commented. "Be a difficult assignment to watch, but it's do-able."

Jen nodded. "The harder part will be the students."

Wes frowned thoughtfully. "Maybe not -- my dad's golf buddies with some of the head honchos at Del Oro Bay College. I'm betting he could get one of us into the right courses. Particularly if we make out that it's Silver Guardian business anyway."

Jen looked at Wes critically. "Your father can do that?"

Wes nodded. "I think so."

"And you have Silver Guardian business that you can use?"

To Jen's amusement, Wes and Eric both nodded in unison. "You wanna tell her or shall I?" asked Eric.

"You're the boss," Wes answered.

"Tell me what?" Jen asked.

"In the last month there've been several gangs of petty crooks coming into Silverhills, armed with -- amongst other things, Cyclosabres," Eric explained.

"Cyclosabres?" Jen shook her head slowly. "I'd ask if you were sure, but I know you both."

"That was my reaction," Eric agreed, jerking a thumb in Wes' direction, "when he said that's what they were armed with."

"And it was my reaction," Wes admitted, "when the SPD described the weapons to me on the first call out. I mean, Time Force cleaned the place up and made sure there were no little surprises left."

Jen nodded. "I know. So these gangs are coming here from...?"

"Several places," Eric said. "All of 'em from north of Silverhills county. At least two of the gangs have come from north of Del Oro Bay, so it would be a good place to base any investigation."

"We'll have to tell dad what's going on," Wes mused.

Jen nodded again. "Of course."

"And," Wes added, "I might have an idea about how we search for Biocon, too."

Jen lifted her eyebrows. "Oh?"

Wes shook his head. "It depends a little bit on what my dad says about Del Oro Bay College."

"Well let's go talk to him..." Jen began, seized with the urgent desire to find Biocon.

Eric held his hand up. "Even if we go see Mr Collins now, we won't be able to do anything until tomorrow."

Jen sighed in frustration. "I guess."

"How about," Wes suggested, "we have dinner with my dad tonight, and make all our plans then?"

It was a common sense suggestion and Jen found herself nodding -- if a little reluctantly. "Sounds like a plan."

__

TO BE CONTINUED...


	5. Chapter 4 - Cover Creation

Disclaimer: Mr Collins, Nadira, Trip, Alex, Wes, Jen, Eric, Kim and Alice don't belong to me, they belong to BVE and are borrowed without permission. Marissa Detourny, Director Nechev, Biocon, Merck Taylor, the time storm concept, the Time Force organisational structure do belong to me. You're welcome to borrow, but please ask me first.

Many, many, many thanks to Gamine and Ecolea for the hand holding, nit picking and general help with this chapter. Also to Selma for letting me play in her universe when mine wasn't working too well (a change is definitely as good as a rest!).

For Ekat -- who's been very busy but has still found time to help me out.

Please offer feedback -- it tells me how I'm doing.

~*~

Max Force -- Cover Creation

Alex watched as Nadira and Trip departed his office. He felt a qualm about using Nadira as a source of information, but he trusted Jen's judgement of her and, of course, then there was Trip. Trip had been adamant that she would be willing to help and been equally adamant that she was trustworthy.

"Well, it's done," he murmured, when they were out of earshot.

He was about to pick up his own research when Marissa appeared in the now open doorway. 

"Sir?" she said a little nervously.

"That looks like your bad news expression, Marissa," Alex observed. "What's up?"

"Director Nechev is here to see you."

_If Director Nechev is here to see me again..._ Alex shook his head. Whatever it was, it was unlikely to be good news. "OK."

Marissa nodded and vanished. Moments later and Director Nechev of Time Force Temporal entered the office.

Alex recalled his time in the academy when he had taken a class in Temporal Mechanics. Several of the lectures had been given by Director Nechev -- then a Major in the Temporal Division -- and she had thoroughly intimidated the cadets. Everything about her had screamed disciplinarian. From the steel-grey hair twisted into a tight coiffure to the stern expression perpetually worn; from the sharp, precise movements as she had given her lectures to the way her cold, blue eyes pinned you to the spot if you so much as dared to raise a hand with a question.

Ten years on, more or less, and Alex still found her intimidating. Even though he was now a high ranked officer and effectively at the same level within Time Force as Nechev, she still had the power to make him feel like a know-nothing cadet.

"Thank you for seeing me, Major, I appreciate that you're busy," Nechev began. 

"My pleasure, Director. Please -- have a seat."

She flicked a glance in the direction of the door as she sat down in the chair Nadira had not long vacated in front of Alex's desk.

_Oh boy -- **really** bad news._ "Privacy lock, authorisation alpha red one."

The door closed and a moment later, the computer announced, "Privacy lock activated."

Nechev nodded. "Alex, Temporal have been doing some research for Time Force Crime on the matter of Biocon. Just as routine to try and give Crime some background on Biocon for their investigation and manhunt. Unfortunately," Nechev continued, "one of the interns conducting the research has run across some information that is pertinent to your investigation."

Alex felt a lead ball begin to form in the pit of his stomach. "Pertinent how?"

"It's about Shendraville."

~*~

Eric frowned. The suggestion of dinner and planning sounded like a good one, but he had a nagging feeling that... "Damn!"

Eric found himself the centre of attention as both Jen and Wes stared at him.

"Damn?" Jen queried.

He groaned. "I said that out loud, didn't I?"

Wes chuckled. "Yup. You wanna explain?"

Eric sighed. "Sorry. I've just realised -- Kimberly's asked me to baby-sit again tonight."

"Kimberly?" Jen still looked puzzled.

"My next door neighbour," Eric explained. "She works as a waitress downtown and her shift times can be a bit variable -- which wouldn't be a problem, except she has a six year old daughter. So I...help out some times."

The look on Jen's face told Eric that she was having a hard time picturing him doing anything that related to kids.

"Bring her with you," Wes suggested. "Phillips will be around -- and Phillips **loves** children."

"But I..."

"Besides," Jen commented, "if Alice is as young as you say, won't she be in bed by the time we get to planning?"

"I guess." Eric sighed. "But I can't... I need to speak to Kimberly before anything else gets organised."

"Will she be at home right now?" Wes asked.

Eric glanced at his watch. Just about two-thirty. "She should be."

"Go see her," Wes suggested. "If she doesn't want you to take Alice with you then we can always think of something else."

"Are you sure it would be all right?"

Wes grinned. "Which? Going and seeing her or Alice coming with you this evening?"

"Both."

"On the first count, yes. Dad cleared our schedule, remember?" Eric nodded slowly. "As for the second, I doubt there'd be a problem -- but if it makes you feel better, I'll phone and check."

Eric bristled at the somewhat snarky tone to Wes' voice. "Hey, don't get sarky with me, pal -- that's exactly what Kimberly will ask and 'I think so' won't cut it."

"Time out!" Jen interrupted. "Wes, Eric has a very good point. And Eric," she added with a smile, "if you're going home, do you think you can give me a lift to the Day's End motel?"

Eric stared. Given what he'd walked in on, Jen's request was a little odd. Or... Maybe it wasn't, looking at Wes' expression. _Guess Jen's a little nervous, huh?_ "Sure."

"You're not planning on staying in a motel tonight, are you?" Wes asked.

"Unless you have a better suggestion," Jen answered.

"Stay with me -- at the mansion."

After his observation about Jen's feelings, Eric was suitably surprised when Jen just said, "Sure -- if that's not a problem."

Wes chuckled. "It's not a problem."

~*~

Alex sat back in his seat, trying not to stare at Nechev.

"About Shendraville?" he echoed.

Nechev nodded. "It seems," she explained, "that part of Biocon's attack in Shendraville involved a time storm."

Alex slowly exhaled. "A time storm? What on earth would that have benefited him?"

"Now I **know** you remember more Temporal Mechanics than that," Nechev chided. "Which is more than can be said for my predecessor who wrote the report," she added.

Alex frowned. "All a time storm does is create a disturbance in the time/space continuum..." And Alex felt the bottom of his stomach drop out. "Which drags objects and or people from one time and place to another."

Nechev nodded. "Correct."

"Which is what Biocon did?"

For answer, Nechev handed over the report that her department had uncovered. "This was what my predecessor had to say about the event. It's naïve and ill-informed which suggests to me that he may well have been one of Biocon's contacts within Time Force at that time, but to the casual glance of a regular member of Time Force Crime it holds up."

Alex nodded, accepted the datapad and started to read.

~*~

Eric watched as Wes put the phone receiver down.

"That's no problem," he said. "Phillips would be delighted to look after Alice."

Eric nodded. "OK -- guess I'd better go see what Kimberly says. Are you ready, Jen?"

Jen nodded. "Yep."

"What time this evening?" Eric asked as he made a last minute check of his desk to insure he hadn't left anything behind that he might need.

"Six o'clock," Wes replied. "Jen, do you want me swing by the motel in half an hour or so to pick you up?"

Jen looked thoughtful for a moment. "Make it an hour, if that's OK -- I need to check in with Alex."

Wes smiled and nodded. "Sure."

"See you at six, Wes," said Eric, heading towards the door. "Jen?"

"Coming."

Eric discreetly looked away while Wes and Jen made their farewells. A tap on the shoulder from Jen told him they'd finished. "This way."

He led Jen through the headquarters to the underground parking garage and then through that to where he'd parked his SUV that morning.

"Eric..." He looked round. "Never mind."

"What?"

She chewed her lip. "It's nothing."

Eric rolled his eyes. "OK. Not one pace further. I'm not putting up with this the whole way to Day's End motel. What's bugging ya?"

"N--nothing."

"Right. Sure."

She winced a bit at the heavy sarcasm. "OK -- look...can we...?"

Eric opened the driving side door. "Go on. Get in," he said. "But you talk on the way."

She flashed a sheepish sort of smile. "Of course."

_Why am I doing this?_ Eric wondered. _I **know** what she wants to talk about -- and what the hell do I know about it?_ He climbed into the SUV and put the keys into the ignition. Jen climbed into the passenger seat. He half expected her to start pouring out the specifics of her problem there and then, but she waited until he'd pulled out of the garage and onto the street.

"It's about Wes," she finally said.

Eric resisted the urge to groan. _I knew it._ "What about Wes?"

"I..." she trailed off. "I don't want to hurt him."

"But...?"

"But I don't know if, after this mission, I can stay here... I want to...but..."

Eric sighed. _I am **so** the wrong person to be asking this._ "Way I see it, you have two options. Option one is you hurt him now. Option two is you **might** hurt him later."

"But I don't want to hurt him at all!" Jen objected.

Eric growled. "I know that."

"Then..."

"Jen," Eric replied, trying to keep from snapping, "life -- and more particularly love -- is about taking risks. People **do** get hurt. Wes knows that, but he's willing to take that risk. In fact, not that he's said anything, I suspect the last three months have hurt him **more** than potentially losing you again will."

"Oh."

Eric pulled into the Day's End motel car park. "If I was you," he finished, "I'd go with option two."

"Why?"

"Because, as trite and cliché as it sounds," Eric replied, "you don't know what's going to happen in your future."

"You're right, that is trite and cliché," Jen agreed.

Eric parked. "I know." He sighed. "Would you at least do **me** a favour and think about it?"

"Do you a favour?"

"I'm **not** going to put up with you two doing the dance around each other's feelings thing that you were doing towards the end of your last mission."

"Oh." She moved to get out. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Eric wasn't sure if she was thanking him for the advice or the lift. "See you later."

Jen smiled, nodded and headed into the motel. Eric sighed. A little voice at the back of his mind screamed: Hypocrite. _Shut up -- there is no way Kimberly would be interested in me._

With a grimace, Eric turned the SUV around and headed out of the motel car park.

~*~

Date: January 21st 2980

Town: Shendraville

Population: 1.2 million

Cause of death: Complete neurological failure caused by an airborne, man-made bio-agent.

Notes: This massacre will go down in history as the worst mass murder in earth record. The bio-agent was created and distributed by the mutant who calls himself Biocon in an apparently motiveless crime of incomprehensible and sickening proportions.

Out of that 1.2 million population, the only survivor is a six-year-old girl.

Possibly as part of the distribution mechanism of the bio-toxin, Biocon appears to have caused a time storm. As Temporal Director, I have set a team to work in an attempt to establish how and why he might have done this, but unless we capture him, we will never truly know for sure.

However, this time storm may well explain how the six-year-old girl managed to survive. It is my belief that she was some how at absolute ground zero of the time storm and that it some how insulated her from the effects of the bio-toxin. Unfortunately, she is currently being treated by Time Force Medical for severe catatonia and will be recommended for memory adaptation so that she can begin to function as a human being once more, so we will also never know how it is she survived.

Alex looked up at Nechev. "I...see."

Nechev leaned forwards in her seat, looking grim. "My theory is the girl is some kind of sleeper on Biocon's part."

"But why?"

"Why did he single out Shendraville for destruction?" Nechev countered.

Alex nodded. "True. Do we know what happened to the girl after this?"

Nechev's expression turned grimmer still. "There should be all manner of data about that, but it's curiously absent from our archives."

"So this 'plant', for want of a better term, could be anywhere?" Alex queried.

Nechev nodded. "Certainly could."

Alex groaned. "The more I unravel this mess, the less I like it."

~*~

"You're home early," Kimberly commented from her front yard, where she appeared to be doing some weeding, as Eric climbed out of the SUV.

"Yeah." Eric sighed. _Best way to do this is to just ask. No point in beating around the bush._ "I..."

"I have a favour to ask you," Kimberly began a little nervously. "So I'm kinda glad you're here."

Eric entered her front yard. "Oh?"

"Can you take Alice for the whole night?"

Eric blinked. "Uh..."

"I wouldn't normally do this but...they want me to supervise the clean down and I'm not going to get done until well after midnight." As she spoke, Kimberly got to her feet; absently tucking some stray strands of hair, which had escaped her normally neat and tidy braid, behind her ear -- an action that some how seemed mesmerising. Distracted, Eric found himself wondering what she would look like with her hair loose.

"Uh..." Eric grabbed possession of his scattered wits. "I'll say yes, but...I have to go to a dinner meeting tonight. It's...Ranger business -- so it isn't really something I can duck out of."

"Oh damnit!"

"I haven't finished," Eric continued. "The meeting is at the Collins' mansion. Wes has suggested I bring Alice with me."

"To a meeting?" Kimberly looked doubtful.

"Well...kind of."

Kimberly's eyebrows shot up. "Kind of?"

The trouble was, Eric had no idea quite how to put the next part without sounding pretentious. With a sigh, he said, "Mr Collins has a butler, Phillips, who -- I guess -- must have looked after Wes when Wes was a kid. Wes has asked him, and he's willing to look after Alice after dinner -- although that'll probably be after Alice's bed time, so it would just be a case of me putting her to bed and then he'll keep an eye on her."

"He doesn't mind?"

Eric shook his head. "No."

"And you don't mind?"

"Of course not."

"And Wes doesn't mind?"

"Wes suggested it."

"And you don't mind looking after Alice until tomorrow morning?"

Eric smiled. "No."

"Well, OK, then." Kimberly smiled. "Thank you, Eric." Somewhat to his surprise, she leaned up and dropped a kiss on his cheek. "I owe you one."

He found himself blushing at the unexpected attention. "You're welcome." He turned to head into his home to get changed.

"What time do you need to be at the mansion?" Kimberly asked.

Eric paused and looked over his shoulder. "Six."

"Would five thirty be OK for me to drop Alice over?"

He nodded. "Sure."

"OK." Kimberly smiled. "Thanks Eric."

"No problems."

~*~

"...and that's the situation," Jen finished.

Dinner had been wonderful, but now the hard part began. She had hoped that when she checked in with Alex there would be some more information available about Biocon and Merck Taylor, but Alex wasn't available to speak to and Marissa hadn't know anything further.

"I see," said Mr Collins thoughtfully. "The cover mission is one of surveillance, in Del Oro Bay, correct?"

"Yes."

"Well, the obvious thing to do," he stated, "is for the three of you to set up a base of some description in Del Oro Bay."

"You mean like an apartment?" Wes queried.

"I was thinking more along the lines of a house," Mr Collins corrected, "but yes, essentially."

"How?" Eric asked. "We don't exactly have the time for a lengthy search or anything."

Jen watched as Mr Collins chuckled. "That isn't a problem."

"Dad?"

"Mr Collins?"

Wes and Eric's questions might have been phrased differently, Jen noted, but their tone of voice was identical.

"The house between Del Oro Bay and San Jose that we own," Mr Collins answered. "It used to be our holiday home," he explained. "I haven't been there since Marie died, but it's still in good condition. You're welcome to use that as a base."

Jen stared. "Are you sure?"

Mr Collins nodded. "Absolutely. I like the idea of someone running around with the power to kill over a million people in one go about as much as I liked the idea of Ransik taking over the world."

"Thank you."

Mr Collins nodded. "Next point. Your surveillance targets. I can't help with Jefferson Smith -- I'm afraid I don't know him all that well, and I can't say we get on terribly well, either -- but the three college students..."

"Can you get one of us into the college saying it's Guardian business?" Wes asked, interrupting.

"I can't guarantee all the right classes, but I can certainly get one of you into some of those classes. Eric, that will have to be you."

Eric looked deer-in-the-headlightsy again. "Me?! Why not Wes?"

"People know me," Wes replied.

"And my knowledge of pop culture is too sketchy to stand up to that kind of scrutiny," Jen added.

"But..."

"Why not?" asked Jen.

"I...didn't graduate High School."

"Doesn't matter," said Wes. "You're there undercover anyway."

"Besides," Mr Collins added, "I know you hold a GED, which is a College entry qualification."

"But... I mean... I..." To Jen's amusement, Eric put his head in his hands and groaned, loudly. "For the record I think this is a really bad idea."

"But you'll do it?" Jen asked.

With another groan, Eric looked up again. "Yes. Let's bring on the humiliation." He frowned. "Can't you just get me a job on campus? Like teaching self-defence or martial arts...or something?"

"That wouldn't help your surveillance mission," Mr Collins replied. "After all, what would a teacher be doing in the student canteen at lunch time? Or hanging around after class in the library?"

"Well it was worth a shot." Eric sighed.

"You'll need to let me know what the Guardian business is," Mr Collins commented, "but we can deal with that later."

"With that settled," Jen said, "Wes -- you want to explain your plan about tracking down Biocon and Merck Taylor now?"

"It strikes me the obvious thing is for one of us to check into the leads while the other two do the surveillance. If anything pans out to be a definite hit, they can always call in backup -- and when they locate Biocon and Taylor, of course, they call in the other two."

Jen nodded slowly. "That makes sense."

"It makes a lot of sense," Eric agreed. "Although this is a big state -- we don't want to wind up combing the whole place."

"That's where Alex and his team come in," Jen replied. "They're looking for anything that could help us -- which includes any potential leads about where to look."

"Right." Eric nodded.

"Presumably," said Mr Collins, "that would be your role, Jen? As the experienced investigator."

Jen shook her head. "Actually -- it might be better if Wes does that."

Wes looked startled, Jen noted. "Me?"

Jen nodded. "This is your home. You won't get lost. I might well. Besides, no offence Wes, but I think I've had a little more practice with surveillance and undercover work than you've had."

Wes started to laugh.

"If you mean the Super Strong Gym..." Eric began before lapsing into laughter himself.

Mr Collins looked bemused. "I don't think I want to know," he decided.

Jen smirked. "You take my point, Wes?"

"Yeah. Yeah I do," Wes replied, when he finally managed to stop laughing.

Mr Collins still looked confused as he shook his head. "Well, that sounds like a plan. It will take a couple of days to arrange the college cover, but there's nothing that says you can't put the rest of the plan into action tomorrow."

Jen nodded. "Thank you."

Mr Collins smiled tightly. "Just make sure you catch these two."

She nodded again. "We'll do that." She glanced at Wes and Eric. "Right guys?"

"Right."

"Definitely."

TO BE CONTINUED...


	6. Chapter 5 - Into Action

Disclaimer: Nadira, Wes, Jen, Eric, Kim and Alice don't belong to me, they belong to BVE and have been borrowed without permission, but no harm, no foul and no money made. Jefferson Smith is borrowed without permission from Mattel, Sony/Tristar and Foundation Imaging (no harm, no foul and no money made). Everything else, including Forgotten District, Linker, Biocon and Merck Taylor belong to me -- you're welcome to borrow, but please ask me first.

With thanks to Ekat for the beta'ing and putting up with me. To Scarletdiva for brightening up my early mornings (!) and the help with Linker AND beta'ing. To Gamine for patiently hand holding me through certain sections of this and for encouraging my somewhat perverse need to humiliate Eric, AND for nit spotting. Without you guys, this story would be all the poorer.

For all those who thought they knew where I was going...

Please offer feedback -- it tells me how I'm doing.

~*~

Max Force -- Into Action

Forgotten District was the rotten heart of Central City. No-one went there unless they were accompanied by at least a squad of heavily armed Time Force officers -- preferably an entire precinct, to be on the safe side. The decaying buildings -- some of them remnants from the Dark Times, some of them older -- were occupied by the city's underclass: the outlaws, the criminals, the vagabonds. They made the area unsafe for the unwary and incautious. The buildings, all of them blackened with age and covered in strange graffiti that -- if you stared it for too long -- tended to make you feel ill, insured that the unwary and the incautious generally steered well clear.

It was the place that Nadira had called home for most of her life, but it now made her shiver.

It had seemed like such a good idea when she'd suggested this in Major Collins' light, bright, airy office, but now -- walking through the depths of Forgotten District -- it felt like the worst idea she'd ever had.

__

I want to go back.

But that was the spoiled brat talking. _I have to do this,_ she reminded herself. _If I want to be a respectable citizen, if I want to prove that I have changed...if I want to earn people's trust then I **have** to do this._

"Who are you?" an oily voice sneered from the depths of the shadows.

Nadira forced herself to straighten. "Watch what you say, bird brain."

"Nadira?!" From out of the shadows slid a repulsive looking creature she recognised as one of her father's closer allies. Known as Linker, he was a short, grey-green, saurian with rheumy, yellow eyes and a sycophantic personality. He gave her the creeps and always had done. "I heard you'd joined Time Force."

"As **if**!" Nadira sneered, inwardly praying that the real events of Ransik's capture hadn't made it onto the streets.

"Then you're working to free your father?"

Nadira didn't miss the instant flash of hope and expectation. "Of course I am," she replied, managing to make her tone suggest that Linker was an idiot to even be asking the question.

He drew himself up to his full -- if unimpressive height. "You have the whole of the Forgotten District behind you, Nadira. Just say the word."

__

Eww! She suppressed the shudder that went with that prospect. "Right now," she said, "I want to know what's been happening while I've been fooling Time Force."

Linker nodded vigorously. "Of course. This way."

Nadira followed Linker into the heart of Forgotten District, hoping that she wouldn't have to keep the charade up for long.

~*~

Jen sat on the bed, watching as Wes bounced from closet to closet in an apparently random fashion, looking for clothing and kit that he'd need.

"You're sure about this?" he asked.

"Uh-huh." She nodded. "The sooner we get to checking the leads and information, the sooner we're going to find Biocon and the sooner we can put him behind bars. Him and Taylor."

"True but..." Wes stopped his somewhat hasty packing to face her. "Surely you've got more detective experience than me..."

"I've also got all the directional sense of a deaf and blind grolfly," Jen cut in, shaking her head.

"Grolfly?" Wes queried.

"Insect native to Xybria -- very common and very, very stupid," she explained. "I'd be lost within an hour of getting on the highway."

"Oh." He turned to his backpack and restarted squeezing things into it.

"Besides," she continued, "the chances are Jefferson Smith knows you -- if you're too well known to go under cover at Del Oro Bay College, then..." She left the sentence open ended.

"Good point." Wes frowned at the backpack. "There. Think that's everything."

Jen smiled. "Anyone would think you've done this before."

"What, packing up to tour the state by bike?" Wes suggested. Jen nodded. "I have." Jen stared. "Summer before I started college -- and with Dad's blessing, too. Life-long biker jock, that's me."

Jen snickered. "I see."

"So," said Wes, doing up the backpack's fastenings, "what's your stake in this?"

"In what?" she asked, puzzled.

"In catching Biocon," he explained.

"He's a criminal -- it's in my job description."

Wes grinned. "True. But..."

"But?"

"You're..." Wes hesitated, clearly searching for the right way to phrase his question. "Well you didn't tell Eric about your connection to Steelix...and it makes me wonder if there's something you're not telling us about Biocon."

Jen sighed. _Trust Wes to notice that._ "Yes, there is something else." Wes looked expectant. "It's not really important..."

"But?" Wes prompted.

"You're not going to leave this alone, are you?"

"Nope." Wes smiled faintly.

Jen groaned. "All right...all right." She looked down, studying her fingers and absently fiddling with Wes' gift to her. "I'm originally from Shendraville. My parents were killed." She didn't need to look up to know that Wes was staring at her. "I was visiting relatives in New Orleans at the time."

"Wow." Looking up, Jen saw Wes shaking his head. Somewhat to her surprise, he crossed the room towards her. "No wonder you want to get this guy." So saying, he drew her into an embrace. 

For a second, Jen felt awkward, then her arms seemed to find their own way around Wes' waist and the awkwardness faded. From there, it seemed natural to move until she could rest her head in the crook of his neck.

"He's the reason I joined Time Force," she admitted quietly. "I told you I was driven...well now you know why."

Wes nodded. "I can understand that. We'll get him," he promised.

~*~

"Where am I?"

Alice's surprised exclamation dragged Eric from the fitful doze he'd fallen into. When he'd returned home the previous evening, he'd put Alice to bed in his own bed, intending to sleep in one of the armchairs in his living room/kitchen -- unfortunately that had proven to be something of a mistake. He was not a tall man by any stretch of the imagination, but neither of the armchairs were remotely comfortable to sleep in. In the end, his Marine training had kicked in -- a good soldier always grabs rest when he can because you never knew when you'd get another chance -- and he'd managed some sleep. _Just nowhere near enough if I'm going to drive from here to Del Oro Bay,_ he decided ruefully as he got to his feet, stretching. _I hope Jen was exaggerating how bad her sense of direction is..._

Trying to stifle a face-splitting yawn, he headed into his bedroom, to see Alice sitting up and looking around in puzzlement. As her eyes fell on him, however, her expression brightened instantly. "Eric!"

He couldn't help but smile. "Good morning," he replied. "Did you sleep OK?"

She nodded vigorously. "Is this your bedroom?"

"Uh-huh."

"Cool." She then tipped her head on one side and frowned. "You haven't got much stuff," she observed.

Eric glanced around the room, trying to see it as Alice was doing, and realised for the first time how painfully bare the place actually was. "That's because I've been moving around a lot," he found himself replying.

"Hm." The frown told Eric that Alice didn't think too much of that as an excuse. "You haven't even got any pictures." But before he could make any kind of response to that, a smile crossed Alice's face. "When's your birthday?"

The question appeared to be a non-sequiteur. "Uh, why?"

She smiled sweetly. "So that I can get you a birthday present."

Eric suddenly got the sinking sensation that he knew where this might lead. Unfortunately, Alice was now looking at him with the sort of expression that promised tantrums if she didn't get the information. Resigned to his fate, he answered, "Twenty-sixth of March."

"Cool." She started to wriggle towards the edge of the bed. "May I get up now?"

"Of course." Eric had a sudden thought. "You don't need any help getting dressed, do you?" he asked...then wished he hadn't as Alice turned a haughty glare on him. He made as if to cower, holding his hands out in an apologetic gesture. "Sorry!"

She snickered. "You're forgiven," she said in an amazingly imperious tone. 

"Why thank you, your majesty," Eric muttered sarcastically before he could stop himself.

Thankfully, he was spared another blast of wrath as she snickered again, and added, "But I'm not a baby."

"When you reach six feet under, stop digging," Eric murmured to himself. Alice giggled. He turned towards the bedroom door. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"Pancakes?" she said in a hopeful tone of voice.

__

And she manages to hit on the one thing I can actually cook! Eric smiled. "Sure."

~*~

Jen sighed quietly as Wes slowed the bike to come to a halt outside Eric's home. Part of her was more than happy with the arrangement that riding pillion required -- after all, who was she to complain about having to hold on to Wes' waist? But the part of her that was still nervous about where this relationship could possibly go was relieved at the ride's end.

Trying to dismiss the turmoil from her mind, she slid off the back of the bike and shrugged out of Wes' backpack while he switched off the engine. Her own kit bag was already in the luggage area of Eric's SUV -- they had decided the previous evening that it made sense to do that rather than have to try and carry both Wes' backpack and her own on the bike. The only things missing from her duffel bag were the few oddments she'd needed over night, which had been put into a carrier bag and then tucked into the top of Wes' backpack.

"OK?" Wes asked, as she slipped off his spare helmet.

"Yep."

"Keep the helmet," he suggested. "Could be useful."

"Besides which," Jen added dryly, "where would you put it?"

Wes chuckled. "There is that," he agreed.

She rescued her carrier bag from his backpack and watched him swing the bulky bag onto his back. "You'll keep in touch?"

She got the feeling he was smirking beneath his helmet. "Yes mom," he drawled. She glared and he relented. "I'll be in Del Oro Bay on Tuesday -- promise."

Jen smiled ruefully. "I can't help being worried."

Wes nodded. "I know. We **will** do this." He turned and swung his leg over the bike. "I'll talk to you this evening. OK?"

"OK." _Jen you're making a scene. Get a grip._ "Good luck!"

"You too."

Jen watched as Wes pulled away. She wanted to yell stop. She wanted to throw herself at him and make sure he didn't leave. She wanted to tell him she didn't want him to go. She wanted to...

"Hi there."

Jen jumped. She'd been so intent on watching Wes depart that she hadn't noticed the speaker walk up to her. Looking round, however, she got a mild shock. She was positive she'd never met the petite brunette woman standing on the sidewalk behind her and yet...

"Was that Wes I saw departing in a cloud of dust?" the brunette continued. Dumbly, Jen nodded. "Are you a friend of his?" Again, Jen nodded. The brunette frowned for a moment. "I know how cliché this is, but...do I know you?"

"I don't think so," Jen finally said. "Jen Scotts."

"Ah!" the brunette grinned. "The famous Jen."

"The **what**?"

"Sorry -- Wes hasn't stopped talking about you since October."

"You know Wes?" Jen queried.

"Only through Eric," the brunette explained. "I'm Eric's neighbour, Kimberly."

__

Maybe Eric has a picture of her on his desk, Jen decided. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Kimberly said, smiling. She headed in the direction of Eric's house. "I'll show you the easy way in."

Jen blinked. "Pardon?"

"I'm guessing you're here to see Eric, right?" said Kimberly. Jen nodded. "I'm on my way over to collect my daughter. I'll show you the easy way in."

Jen smiled as she realised what Kimberly meant. "OK -- thank you."

Jen followed Kimberly round into Eric's backyard. "See, he never locks his back door," Kimberly explained, "because Alice 'bird sits' for him, and he's kinda slow to answer his front door -- in fact, I'd swear the buzzer doesn't work, although he swears it does."

"Bird sits?" Jen echoed, trying to imagine what on earth Kimberly could mean by that.

"He keeps love birds," Kimberly replied.

"Oh." Jen slowly shook her head.

Kimberly smiled. "Somewhere underneath the SOB exterior is a heart of marshmallow."

"Clearly."

"Here we go." Kimberly indicated the door. "After you."

Jen smiled in gratitude and slid into the house, only to be greeted by a sight and sound that left her more than somewhat stunned. 

The first thing that she processed was that Eric was apparently cooking. She'd figured he'd be the type to live purely on ready-meals. The second thing she noted was that music was coming from somewhere, although the source was hidden. The third thing was that Eric was singing along -- and actually doing it pretty well -- and...Jen bit her lip, trying not to laugh as she realised that he was also moving in time to the music. It could almost be described as dancing. The thing that sealed the sight, as far as Jen was concerned, was the small, blonde child -- Alice, presumably -- who was perched on a stool next to Eric, watching him with rapt attention.

Behind her, she heard Kimberly give a muffled snort -- presumably as her eyes fell on the same scene.

__

Definitely a heart of marshmallow, Jen decided, trying not to start giggling.

"Mommy!" Alice exclaimed, looking round and spotting them.

Jen watched as Eric first froze, then blushed, then shrugged. "You guys want pancakes too?" he asked, not looking round. Jen found herself exchanging looks with Kimberly. "I've made plenty," he added.

"I've eaten already, thanks," said Kimberly.

"Jen?"

"Ah..." she shrugged. "Sure." _They can't possibly be any worse than Lucas'._

"You don't have to sound so enthusiastic," Eric retorted with sarcasm.

Jen realised what she'd said had been somewhat less than polite. "Sorry -- I just wasn't... This is kinda a surprise."

"What, me cooking?" Eric asked, starting to dish up the contents of the pan. "There should be syrup in that cupboard there, Alice," he added, directing Alice towards one of the cupboards just above where she was sat.

"Neat!" Alice carefully reached for the cupboard 

"Um -- yeah."

Eric gave a rueful laugh. "Jen, Kim -- I live on my own, have done for a very long time and I have yet to poison myself."

"Nobody does 'huff' quite so well as a guy whose ability to cook has just been insulted," Kimberly whispered.

"I heard that!" Eric objected.

Jen snickered. "True," she agreed.

"For that," Eric muttered, "**you** can do the dishes."

Alice, who had been busily tucking into a plate of pancakes, heavily laden with syrup, suddenly piped up, "Mommy you should try some -- they're really good."

Eric smirked as he handed Jen a plateful. "See? And help yourself to syrup."

Jen sighed. "And you know the worst thing?" she muttered to Kimberly. "I'm going to have to put up with that all the way to Del Oro Bay."

"Oh? Would that be what last night's meeting was about?" Kimberly asked.

Jen noted that Eric glanced in her direction letting her decide what to say. "Yes," she answered.

"I won't ask," Kimberly decided quietly. "The less I know the better, I suspect."

"In fact," Alice continued, heedless of the grown-ups' conversation, "mommy, can Eric make me breakfast every morning? These are better than yours."

Jen chewed the inside of her lip, hard, in an effort not to laugh at the expression on Eric's face at that suggestion. First came shock. Then came horror. Then, to the serious detriment of Jen's health, he blushed. Deeply. Mumbling something, he vanished into the bathroom and moments later the shower came on.

"Mommy, where did Eric go?" Alice asked.

That was the final straw. Jen couldn't help herself, she started to laugh. So did Kimberly.

~*~

Eric gave Jen and Kimberly half an hour to stop laughing -- and giving him a chance to recover from his embarrassment. Alice certainly had a way with words. He hoped Kimberly hadn't taken too much offence (although to judge from the laughter that was still audible over the noise of the shower there wasn't too much danger of that). It had been bad enough that Jen and Kimberly had walked in on him cooking, but...

__

You can't hide in here all morning -- you and Jen need to hit the road. He sighed. _Besides,_ he added with a shiver, _it's not like you have a huge hot water tank._

With another shiver, he climbed out of the now freezing shower, towelled off and started to dress.

__

Look on the bright side; they waited until you were out of earshot before laughing.

It wasn't much of a comfort.

__

Might just as well get the humiliation over and done with.

But when he exited the bathroom, only Jen remained in the kitchen -- and the dishes had been cleaned and neatly stacked on the side.

"I wasn't sure where they went," she explained. "Kim and I did them between us -- we figured it was only fair."

"You didn't have to -- I was kidding."

Jen smiled. "And we didn't have to laugh -- but we did."

"I know."

"Mind you," Jen added, "if you'd seen the absolutely mortified expression on your face, you'd have been laughing too."

Eric started to put the clean dishes away. "Probably."

"And before I forget," Jen continued, "Kim says thank you very much -- and she and Alice will keep an eye on this place while you're away."

Eric found himself smiling a little at that. "I'll have to remember to let them have the keys, huh?"

"I won't let you forget," Jen replied. "So...you want to tell me what's going on between you two?"

Eric stopped. "Nothing."

"Nothing?" Jen echoed, disbelief tingeing her voice. "Now, weren't you the one who said life and love was about taking risks?"

"Ye-es." Eric slowly turned to face Jen. "Jen, I am going to say this once, and once only: Kim and I are friends. That's it." Jen opened her mouth. "End of discussion." She sighed. "I need to go pack."

"Sorry," Jen called as he headed into his bedroom.

"Don't worry about it. I just..." Eric sighed and shook his head. "It's different." He started packing clothing into a kit bag. "Complicated."

Silence descended as he packed.

"Did Wes get away OK?" he asked presently.

"Uh-huh. The plan is, he'll contact us each evening -- starting tonight," Jen answered.

"Right. And I presume you have the keys and so on for this house?"

"Uh-huh."

Eric glanced around his room. _Yep, that's it._ "In that case, let's get this show on the road."

~*~

Kimberly sat down beside the phone. Eric had just handed over the keys to his house -- so that Alice would still be able to look after his birds -- and he and Jen had left for Del Oro Bay (although what they could possibly want in Del Oro Bay, Kimberly couldn't imagine -- but she wasn't about to ask). On second meeting, she was even more sure that she knew Jen from somewhere else -- or knew someone very like Jen from somewhen else.

With a sigh, she dialled.

"Ape Martial Arts."

Kimberly smiled. "Hey there."

"Kimberly!" the speaker was surprised. "How're you doing? And how's Silverhills?"

"Just like home, ya know?"

He laughed. "Like that, huh? So when are you gonna come visit?"

"Maybe soon...I just...need a little more time." She sighed. "How is everyone?"

"Oh, they're fine." There was a pause. "But you didn't call me up to find that out."

Kimberly sighed. "No...actually -- it was to invite you up for dinner."

"Really?"

"Uh-huh. We can catch up properly."

"That's great -- when did you have in mind?"

"How does next weekend sound?"

"Sounds great. Do you want me to bring anything?"

Kimberly chewed her lip. "Actually, yeah...it's gonna sound odd, but...can you bring your junior year book?"

He laughed. "You're right, that does sound odd -- but hey, odd was a way of life at one point. No problems. I'll see you then."

"Thank you."

He laughed again. "Any time, Kim, any time."

__

TO BE CONTINUED...


	7. Chapter 6 - On The Road and On The Move

Disclaimer: Wes, Jen, Eric, Kim and Alice don't belong to me, they belong to BVE. Jefferson Smith and N-Tek don't belong to me; they belong to Mattel, Sony/Tristar and Foundation Imaging. The lyrics quoted don't belong to me; they belong to Richie Sambora and David Bryan. No harm, no foul, no money made.

The track quoted is the title track from Richie Sambora's album Stranger In This Town -- if you like blues/rock at all, even vaguely, I **strongly** recommend the album (if there's a soundtrack to this series, then this is as close to it as it gets in one disk).

Please note: While Silverhills, Del Oro Bay and San Marco aren't real places, I have based where they are in the state of California on real places. This was to let me keep some sort of consistency in journey times and that sort of thing. 

With thanks to Gamine, ScarletDeva and Ekat for the help and beta'ing. I've said it before, I'll say it again -- you guys are wonderful, thank you. Special thanks to Vanessa and NewAgeAngelUK for being my test audience -- creating conspiracies is fun; creating a little trail of breadcrumbs through your work so that you don't blow the whole conspiracy is hard work!

Please offer feedback -- it tells me how I'm going; glad you guys are liking it so far.

~*~

Max Force -- On The Road and On The Move

"I can see why people move here," Jen observed, about an hour into the journey north. "This is beautiful."

Eric smiled faintly. "I guess it is." Although he was quite prepared to admit that travelling along I-1 was one of the more striking routes north, he wasn't necessarily sure a sheer cliff to the right and a sheer drop to the left was entirely beautiful. It was too openly deadly for that.

"So what's Del Oro Bay like?" Jen asked.

Eric shrugged carefully. "Sleepy college town, built on an inlet of Monterey Bay, quite a bit smaller than Silverhills...not a great deal of anything very much goes on there. In fact, about the only note-worthy thing about the place is that it's where N-Tek base themselves."

"How 'bout N-Tek -- what do you know about them?"

"You mean this stuff isn't in your briefing pack?" Eric joked.

Jen grinned. "I just get dry facts. You know the place. I mean," she continued, "just going on historical record, people from the year 3000 could be forgiven for thinking that the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries were peopled by barbaric, mass-murdering drug and sex addicts."

"Ouch."

"I know that's not true -- so does anyone with half a brain cell, come to that. But unless you've **been** here, you don't know what the real truth is."

"Good point." Eric frowned for a moment. "I guess," he mused, "N-Tek are kinda like Biolab -- got fingers in a lot of pies. Their public face is sports equipment -- anything from baseball to motor sports to rock climbing; you name it, they make it and have a design patent on it. But..." He frowned again. "I'm sure they do other stuff too." He glanced at Jen to see her looking thoughtful.

"I knew about the sports gear," she admitted, "what do you mean about other stuff?"

He shrugged again. "That's just it," he replied, "I can't for the life of me work out where or when I heard about it. I just have this feeling..." He frowned. "Something...hmm. Pity I'm not in touch with any of my ex-service buddies -- they might actually know."

"Oh?"

Eric shook his head. "I'm not sure. I just have this creeping suspicion N-Tek have some sort of ties to governmental defence work."

"Interesting," Jen commented. "You know, I still can't get over you being in the Marines."

Eric snorted. "Why shouldn't I have been?"

"It's not that," she added hastily. "I don't mean I can't see you having been in the military...I just..."

"Jen," Eric observed, "when you hit six foot down, stop digging." A sideways glance told him she was blushing. He chuckled.

"Sorry."

"It's OK."

"What I mean is," Jen tried again, "I don't understand why you're **not** a Marine any more."

Eric winced. "Let's just say," he answered quietly, "that it's a long, complicated and personal reason, and I don't want to talk about it."

~*~

Wes pulled off I-101 onto Venture Avenue, looking for a suitable place to stop. San Diego was still another three hours along first I-101 and then the I-5, but after three hours already on the road it was definitely time for a break.

__

Coffee would be good right now -- and so would setting this backpack down for a few minutes. I have **such** a cramp!

Spotting a likely truck stop, he pulled into the parking lot and, gratefully, turned off the engine. Sliding off the bike, he pulled off his helmet and gloves and ran his fingers through his hair, grimacing. He was hot and sticky -- and only likely to get hotter and stickier.

__

Better fill up with gas while I'm at it, he decided as he crossed the lot to the dinner. _That would **really **impress Jen. 'I'm not in San Diego cos I ran out of gas on the highway...'_ He trailed the thought off with a mental snicker. _Nope. Not gonna happen._

"Can I help you?" enquired the woman behind the counter as Wes shucked off his backpack and slid onto a stool at the counter.

"Can I get a coffee?"

"Sure -- you want cream?"

Wes shook his head, setting his helmet down on top of his backpack. "No thanks."

"One black coffee -- are you eating, honey?"

Wes glanced at his watch -- just after midday. A bit early for lunch -- then again, he wasn't planning on stopping again until he reached San Diego... "Can I see a menu?"

  
The woman smiled. "Sure." She produced the laminated sheet that listed the day's menu before bustling off to serve another customer.

Wes glanced down the list. Maybe he should eat a proper meal now and snack later.

"What'll it be, honey?" the woman asked, returning her attention to him as she deposited a steaming cup of coffee in front of him.

"Ah..." Wes looked up. "I'll go with a burger and fries."

"Coming right up."

Wes returned the menu and settled back on his seat. It definitely felt good to be off the bike for a little while. He wondered how the others were getting on -- theirs was the much shorter journey but... He smiled faintly. It wasn't as if Eric and Jen exactly knew each other well.

"Here you go, honey," the woman said, producing a plate that was heavily laden with food.

"Thanks," Wes answered, smiling. Seeing the plateful made his stomach growl. So what if he'd had breakfast -- that had been almost five hours ago.

__

Yep, I was definitely due a break.

~*~

Nadira tried to not look bored -- which was difficult. For the last three hours, Linker and another former member of her father's entourage -- a sour faced canine called Fenris -- had been regaling her with all manner of doings... Just none of them had the remotest relevance to Biocon or Merck Taylor.

Finally, as Linker started in on yet another tale of a life of petty crime that Time Force had cut brutally short -- and how had Time Force managed to avoid terminal boredom dealing with this was anyone's guess -- she said, "So what you mean to say is, there's nothing major happened around here."

Linker and Fenris exchanged looks before nodding. "Yes."

Nadira didn't have to feign irritation. "You're lying."

Linker and Fenris shifted uneasily. "Nadira?" Linker queried. "What do you mean?"

"Doi! It's been all **over** the holonet. Biocon's escape!"

She watched as Linker and Fenris noticeably paled. "Ah. Biocon..." Fenris trailed off.

"Ah, Biocon **what**?" Nadira pursued.

Fenris tugged at the collar around his neck. "Well... He...ah...didn't exactly tell anyone his plans."

"But?" _C'mon you sorry, flea-bitten excuse -- he told you something, I know he did._

"Well...I did hear one thing," Fenris admitted.

Nadira waited. When Fenris showed signs of saying nothing more, Nadira glared at him. "Well?"

He gulped. "I heard that he had a plan...to bring down the whole of Time Force."

~*~

With the privacy lock activated, Alex looked from Marissa to Lucas to Trip.

"So what do we know?" he asked.

Somewhat to Alex's surprise, Trip smiled. "I think I've got something on that shoot-out."

Alex lifted his eyebrows. "You have?"

Trip nodded. "According to the call-logs, it was Officer Schott who called in Biocon's location on that morning."

"Right?" said Alex puzzled.

"Two things," Trip explained. "First, he's the officer who was first on the scene at Shendraville -- and who is reported to have found the survivor. Second, he's the only officer serving in Time Force, then or now, to have actually seen Biocon in the flesh."

"There could be lots of reasons for that," Marissa objected.

"The same guy?" said Lucas sceptically. "Both times...that's stretching credibility."

Trip nodded vigorously. "That's what I thought. Particularly when I realised that on the morning of the shoot-out, Officer Schott was on a lone patrol."

"What's wrong with that?" Alex asked. "I used to patrol on my own too."

"By foot?" queried Trip.

Alex slowly shook his head. "Who called in the death report that day?"

"Give you three guesses," said Trip. "And the reason no-one ever looked for a body was that the building Biocon was supposed to be hiding in exploded. According to Officer Schott's report, there was," Trip glanced down at the datapad in his hand, "'an old style gas main in the building. A stray blaster shot struck it and the house exploded, incinerating everything in it'. Circuit checked into the location of the shoot-out."

"Let me guess," said Alex dryly. "Building not old enough?"

Trip nodded. "The area as a whole was redeveloped in 2990 so there are comprehensive records of what was there and there was **nothing** in that whole city block that would have been old enough to have gas mains."

Alex felt like banging his head against his desk. "Damn it! Why wasn't this picked up on at the time?" He scrubbed a hand over his face; suddenly feeling very, very tired. "Lucas, Marissa -- how about you?"

"Well," Marissa answered, "no obvious candidates for the other Time Force contact as far as Taylor and Biocon are concerned."

"But," Lucas continued, "we did find someone interesting." Lucas pushed a datapad across the desk towards Alex. "That is Scott Jackson. He **was** one of the cleaners at the precinct headquarters while Taylor was serving there -- and he vanished at exactly the same time as Taylor."

Alex looked at the holograph being displayed on the datapad and felt the bile rise. "That's not Scott Jackson."

"Sir?" Three identical queries met his statement, but he could only shake his head.

"I have a very, very bad feeling about this," he responded. "Trip. See what you can pull out of the database about 'Officer Schott' -- I think I know what you're going to find but I'd like to be sure."

Trip nodded, a little puzzled. "Do you want family contacts as well?"

Alex sighed. If he was right... "Yes."

"Yes, sir."

Alex smiled faintly. "Lucas -- I need you to go over every record of events relating to Shendraville that you can find. Time Force reports, witness statements, holonet reports...anything you can lay your hands on."

"Am I looking for anything in particular?" Lucas asked.

Alex nodded. "Anything that mentions Schott and anything that mentions the survivor. After that, anything that is just plain screwy."

Lucas smiled faintly and nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Marissa," Alex continued, speaking to the final member of the team, "I need you to look into this 'Scott Jackson' character. Again, I'm pretty sure what you're going to find but..."

She nodded. "Full life history?"

"Yes please."

"You've got it sir."

Alex nodded. "Trip -- when is Nadira reporting in to you?"

Trip glanced up at the chronometer on the wall. "0900 tomorrow morning."

Alex nodded again. "In that case -- we'll reconvene at 1000 hours tomorrow."

If they were surprised by the increase in the schedule, they didn't show it as Alex released the privacy lock.

As they turned to leave, Marissa hesitated. "Sir? What are you going to do?"

Alex gave a half smile. "Time I paid a little visit to New Orleans."

~*~  


Eric had lapsed into silence after politely but firmly shutting her out over why he was no longer in the Marines. Not long after that, and somewhat to Jen's surprise, Eric turned on the SUV's CD player. She hadn't pictured him to be into music -- of course, she hadn't pictured him keeping lovebirds or dancing, either -- if anything, she had put the music that had been playing when she'd arrived at his place that morning down to Alice's presence. _Clearly not._

This music, though, seemed different to what had been on in the kitchen. That had been... She wasn't a music critic, but it had been happy sounding. This was...mournful.

__

Hey mister can you tell me, what this world's about

It might just help me out

I used to be a dreamer, but my dreams have burned

You know how luck can turn

Some times it's hard to find a friendly face

I feel like a stranger to the human race

It's such a lonely, lonely place

I walk alone, in the darkness of the city

Got no place to call home

I might be dyin' but you can't hear a sound

Midnight rain is coming down

I'm just a stranger -- a stranger in this town

Jen shivered, unused to hearing that kind of emotion in a simple song.

"This isn't how you see yourself, is it?" she found herself asking.

"Huh?"

Jen looked over at Eric and realised he'd been deep in thought. "The song," she clarified. "Do you see yourself that way?"

"What, a 'stranger to the human race'?" Eric queried. Jen nodded. "No."

Jen stared at him. "Sure?"

He gave a rueful chuckle. "Sure. Not all the time, at any rate."

"Pardon?"

He chuckled again. "The blues. Don't tell me they don't have the blues in the future?"

Jen looked blankly. "The blues?" she echoed, and promptly got the impression that Eric was rolling his eyes.

"The blues. Style of music. This," and he inclined his head in the direction of the CD player, "is the blues. It's...always personal and it's always emotional. It..." Eric hesitated. "It can help you sort your feelings out -- remind you that you're not the only guy to feel this way."

Jen frowned, thoughtfully. "We don't have anything like that."

"Seriously?" Eric shook his head. "Wow."

"So...you don't feel that way all the time?"

This time, Eric out and out laughed. "No. Just every now and then. Y'know? You have a bad day -- nothing goes right, you start to wonder if you're in the right place or doing the right thing..."

Jen nodded as understanding dawned. "For a second you had me worried."

"I did?"

To say Eric sounded stunned was an understatement. Jen shot a sideways glance at him. "Uh-huh -- Eric, you're my friend," Jen explained, "and that means I care about what you think -- or how you feel."

There was a long silence, then Eric murmured, "And you mean that, too."

Jen got the feeling that she wasn't supposed to hear that last. "Why wouldn't I mean it?" she asked. "Or is that another long and personal story?"

"Not especially," Eric answered. "Well...guess it is kinda long and I guess it **is** sorta personal."

"Feel free to make less sense," Jen commented dryly.

Eric gave a huff of sheepish laughter. "Sorry. I guess..." He hesitated a beat. "When you're used to people lying to you on a daily basis, it gets hard to believe it when people are honest with you."

Jen gaped. The simple statement brought up a whole slew of questions, none of which she felt right about asking. _What kind of life has this guy had that he can't trust people around him not to lie? And how much of that relates to his reasons for leaving the Marines?_

"What're the directions for this house?" Eric asked, changing the subject abruptly.

Jen started. "Um..." She reached forward for her document wallet, into which she'd tucked the keys for the Collins' holiday home and the directions Mr Collins had given her the night before. "Where are we?"

"Just passed Monterey," Eric replied. 

"OK." Jen consulted with the piece of paper. "It says to stick with the I-1 until you hit the Bay Avenue off-ramp. About four miles north along Bay Avenue is a little town called San Marco and the house is just off that main road." Jen glanced at Eric. "Apparently, you can't miss it."

"It always worries me when people like Mr Collins say you can't miss things," Eric commented.

"Why?" Jen wondered.

"Mr Collins doesn't drive."

Jen grinned. "I see."

"So did he say anything else about this place?"

"Uh-huh. The house is called Vista Del Oro." Somewhat to her surprise, Eric started to laugh at that. "What?"

"I just worked out why this place is going to be hard to miss."

"Oh?" Jen took a sideways glance at him to see that he was grinning broadly. "Wanna let me in on the joke?"

"You don't speak Spanish, huh?" Eric answered.

"Why would I?" Jen answered, puzzled and somewhat aggravated.

"Never mind -- the house name," he clarified, "is Spanish for 'golden view'."

"Right, and that would be significant because...?"

Eric sighed with exaggerated patience. "OK. Crash course in house naming, twenty-first century style: If the house has a good view of a natural feature, such as...oh, I don't know, a large and beautiful bay..."

"Eric -- cut the crap."

"Spoilsport."

"I'll tell Wes you cooked Alice pancakes," Jen threatened, sensing that was **not** something Eric was keen for Wes to know.

"You wouldn't..." She felt him glance in her direction. "You would. OK. Chances are, this place is part way up a hill giving it a great view down over Monterey Bay as a whole, and specifically, Del Oro Inlet. Hence, golden view, and hence being hard to miss -- it's probably visible from the main road as you leave Del Oro Bay."

"I see." Jen grinned. "So how come you know any Spanish?"

"I'm a native Californian. It's right up there with breathing."

~*~

Nervously, Alex tugged down his uniform jacket while he waited for the front door to be opened. While he was fairly sure the person he was visiting wouldn't be unhappy to see him, he wasn't so sure she was going to like what he had to say. _Or do._

The door opened and he found himself staring at a boy of no more than six.

"Hi!" the child exclaimed before Alex could say anything.

"Hi there," Alex replied, offering the child his most friendly smile.

"Momma's not here right now."

Alex chuckled. "That's OK -- how 'bout your big sister?"

"Kathy?" the boy asked. Alex nodded. "She sure is." Before Alex could stop him, the child hollered, "Kathy! There's a guy here for you!"

Alex blushed.

"Nathaniel Walker, what has momma told you about opening the door to strangers?" scolded a voice.

"Sorry Kathy," the Nathaniel apologised and hung his head, although to Alex's eyes the boy didn't look all that sorry.

The door opened wider. "Alex!"

"Hello, Katie."

__

TO BE CONTINUED...


	8. Chapter 7 - Nervous Tensions

Disclaimers: *deep breath* Katie, Alex, Wes, Jen, Eric, Nadira, Kimberly, Alice and Kimberly's surprise visitor don't belong to me, they belong to BVE. No harm, no foul, no money made. Fenris, Linker, Arachna, Biocon and Taylor do belong to me -- you're welcome to borrow them, but asking me first would be nice.

With thanks to Ekat, Gamine, ScarletDeva and Selma for patiently answering my questions and beta'ing for me. You guys have been wonderful -- particularly when ironing out my misconceptions...!

Please offer feedback -- it tells me how I'm doing.

~*~

Max Force -- Nervous Tensions

Katie had been a little puzzled by her brother's call. It wasn't as if a lot of people knew she'd come home. Then she'd got to the front porch and found Alex standing there, looking a little uncomfortable. For a second, she thought it was a social call...then she saw the set of his shoulders.

"Nath, honey, go on inside -- let me talk to my visitor OK?" Katie waited until she was sure that Nathaniel had vanished indoors before pulling the front door closed behind her. "You do know I quit Time Force, right?"

Alex managed a faint smile. "I do."

Katie gestured to the old-fashioned bench swing on the veranda. "So why don't you have a seat and tell me what's up? I haven't heard from Jen or the boys since I came home."

Katie watched as Alex gingerly perched on the seat. She leaned against the veranda railing. "I can't go into details, Katie -- we're in the middle of..." he sighed. "Who am I kidding? Time Force is in the shit. Deep in the shit, in fact."

Katie swallowed. When Alex was reduced to crudity, things **had** to be bad. "What can you explain?"

"Not much." Alex grimaced. "Every where we look, every thread we pull we just find more bits of the puzzle and none of it is making sense."

"So why are you here?" Katie asked.

"I'm hoping you're going to be able to disprove a theory for me."

Katie's eyebrows shot up. "Me? How?"

For answer, Alex produced a datapad and displayed a holograph on it. "Who does that look like to you?"

Katie studied the image. "I was going to say Jen's uncle...but it can't be him." Katie looked back at Alex. "He died just before Jen went to the academy. I remember the funeral."

Alex gave a groan. "Damn."

"Damn?" she queried, noting for the first time how tired Alex looked.

"I checked over at the Scotts family estate before I came here," he explained. "Jack Scotts' grave is empty."

Katie felt sick. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, Jack Scotts has either had his body stolen -- which is too sick I don't even want to go there -- or he was never buried there in the first place."

~*~

Nadira stared at Fenris. "What do you mean?"

Fenris shrugged. "I don't know. It's some sorta long-term thing. Been working on it for years." Nadira's first instinct was to try and prise more information out of the canine mutant but that would just raise suspicions. Then the decision was taken away from her as Fenris added, "But Arachna would be able to tell you more." Fenris gave a shudder.

It was a shudder that Nadira felt safe in matching. Arachna was not a mutant to mess with -- she was powerful, and, worse, wasn't a former member of her father's entourage. In fact, as Nadira recalled, Arachna had rebuffed her father on several occasions.

"Why this interest in Biocon's escape?" Linker asked, suddenly.

Inwardly, Nadira froze at the question. Outwardly, however, her response was automatic. "Doi! Biocon outwitted Time Force -- find him, find a way to free my daddy."

She held her breath -- would Linker swallow that?

Linker started to laugh. "It's brilliant, my dear."

"So take me to Arachna," Nadira ordered.

~*~

Eric leaned on the veranda railing, looking down over Del Oro Bay. Vista Del Oro -- it was certainly that, all right. The view was directly west, so that in the late afternoon, everything was shrouded in a golden haze of sunlight glinting off Monterey Bay. _Nice place,_ he mused.

"You OK?"

"Any reason I shouldn't be?" Eric responded, not bothering to turn round.

"You've been quiet since we got here."

Part of him was tempted to ask why Jen cared. Part of him knew what her answer would be. She was a friend. Friend. It was going to take a lot of getting used to. "Sorry -- just thinking."

"About?" she prodded.

"Things," Eric replied evasively.

"Anything I can help with?"

The offer was genuine. "Not unless you can go back in time and fix things that went wrong."

"Well the back in time part I can do -- fix things..." Jen sighed. "Things happen for a reason -- good or bad."

Eric snorted. "There's a platitude if ever I heard one."

"I know. It never helped me that much either -- but, it's about all I got."

Eric looked over his shoulder. Jen was leaning against the doorpost, apparently studying him. "What do you mean?"

"I have a personal stake in seeing Biocon caught," she admitted quietly. "Shendraville's my home town."

Slowly, Eric turned to face her. "You were the survivor?"

Jen shook her head. "No -- I was staying with my uncle in New Orleans. But I lost the whole of the rest of my family...including parents."

Eric nodded slowly. He knew what Jen was trying to do by admitting that. She was letting him know that she trusted him -- and by return, he could trust her. He tried to work out what he could say in return, that would let her know he **did** trust her -- at least as far as he was able to -- but nothing came to mind.

Then, sparing him the effort, his cell phone started to ring.

__

Saved by the bell? Or just put off the inevitable? he wondered, as he unclipped the device from his belt. The caller ID said it was Mr Collins. "Looks like I might be going to college after all," he murmured. "Myers," he added, answering the call.

"Ah, Eric -- safe journey, I hope?" Mr Collins replied.

"Yes thanks." Eric realised Jen was looking bemused. _Wes' Dad_ he mouthed.

__

Oh! Jen mouthed back.

"I've spoken to the Dean at Del Oro Bay College," Mr Collins continued, getting straight to the point. "He's agreed -- although you'll need to see him this afternoon to arrange a schedule."

Eric pulled a face -- and immediately received a frown from Jen. "Oh."

"But that shouldn't be too much of a problem?"

"No, sir. Thank you."

"My pleasure. Good luck."

With that, Mr Collins ended the call. Eric lowered the cell phone and clipped it back to his belt.

"Well?" Jen asked.

"Gotta go see the Dean this afternoon to agree on a schedule -- but that apart," Eric paused and grimaced, "looks like I'm going to be going to college."

Jen looked puzzled. "What's so wrong with that?"

Eric sighed. "Nothing, I suppose."

"But?"

Eric turned back to the view. "I'm twenty-seven, nearly twenty-eight. I'm ten years older than most of the people I'm going to be in class with -- and I have about as much in common with most of 'em as I do with..." But he couldn't finish the comparison. "I have nothing in common with them -- I've seen too much...done too much."

There was a long silence.

"Wes and I would have the same problem," Jen murmured. "I know it's not going to be easy - and if you can think of a better way of doing this, be my guest."

Eric growled. "They're three college students - there isn't a better way. I know that. Doesn't mean I have to like it."

"True," Jen agreed. "Look on the bright side."

"What bright side?"

"Think of all the cute freshmen girls."

~*~

Wes rapidly rubbed his head with a motel towel. _Just my luck it starts to rain fifteen miles out of San Diego,_ he decided. _I know this is important, but I'm damned if I'm getting drenched. _Still towelling his hair, he perched on the edge of the bed and turned on the television in the hopes of finding a weather forecast. _I so hope it's not going to do this all evening too..._

The local station was showing a news bulletin, so he decided to wait and see their weather section -- they'd be more likely to know what was going to happen here than CNN.

As he waited, he reviewed what he knew of San Diego. He'd been here a few times before -- although the last time had been nearly ten years earlier, when he'd done his last tour of the state via motorbike. Then, as now, the place reminded him of a slightly smaller version of Los Angeles, although it was considerably more spread out.

The part of San Diego he was going to be visiting was the dockside warehouse district -- which was, to Wes' mind, almost a cliché. According to the sparse data that Alex had been able to provide, there was some sort of low level, potentially mutant related activity there -- which could be Biocon and Taylor or it could be a link to them...or it could be completely innocent.

Given that most of the intelligence Alex had supplied centred in and around the north of the state, everyone had agreed that this 'hit' was likely to be a bust -- but it had to be checked.

"The good news is, this rain we're currently having will die out as the afternoon progresses, leaving us with a dry evening."

The voice of the newsreader dragged Wes' attention back to the television. So the rain would have be stopping soon... He glanced at his watch. It was just coming up to half past four -- and a look at the motel room window told him it was still hammering down.

__

Evening's probably best time to go poking around where I might not be wanted, Wes decided. _So if I grab a bit of sleep -- rain should have stopped by then._

He set his watch alarm to go off at seven pm, flicked off the television and lay back on the bed.

~*~

Alex felt Katie staring at him incredulously. "What?"

He sighed. "I really **can't** explain it to you...unless you accept a temporary recommission."

He saw her hand moving towards his head but made no move to avoid the slap -- she was angry with him, and justifiably so. He just hoped she'd hold back enough so that he'd still be able to talk. "You bastard!"

The blow was hard enough that he saw stars but not hard enough to dislocate his jaw -- not yet, at any rate. "Probably," he agreed, quietly.

"I quit Time Force because I need to be **here**. Momma needs me -- and needs me to be **here**, not a thousand years in the past or something. Now you wanna drag me back..."

"I don't want to drag you anywhere, Katie," Alex cut in. "If I didn't know that you were about the only person who can help I wouldn't be here."

"Talk to Jen."

"I can't," Alex answered.

"Can't? Or won't?"

"Both." She moved to slap him again, but this time he caught the flailing hand before it connected. "Not because of that." Katie glared. "This has nothing to do with my personal relationship with Jen."

"Then what **is** it to do with?" Katie retorted.

Alex sighed. "It's classified."

"Bullshit. Alex, what is going on?"

He shook his head. "It's not bullshit, Katie -- you ought to know me better than that. I wouldn't be here if I had any other options."

"What's wrong with asking Jen?" Katie retorted. "Why come to me?"

"Will you accept that recommission?" Alex countered.

She slapped him again. "I told you, I quit Time Force."

Alex gingerly worked his jaw -- not broken, but probably not far from it. "You have information that I need. Now...I can arrest you, drag you back to Central City and force you through memory extraction..."

"Not even you would do that!" Katie objected.

"Katie -- if you don't accept that recommission, I'll **have** to. I need the information you have. Right now, I am staring at the very real possibility of billions of lives being wiped out and I know less than a grolfly in heat."

Her arm twitched as though she was going to slap him again, but she stilled the movement. "You're one cold, manipulating son of a bitch, Alex."

Alex sighed. "You can debate my morals later -- will you accept the recommission?"

She slapped him a third time -- and this time there was a resounding crack as bone gave way. "Yes -- but don't think I like this, because I don't," she snarled. "Stay there -- I'll get my things."

The front door slammed as Katie re-entered the house. Alex sagged back onto the porch swing. For better or worse, it was done.

~*~

Kimberly was more than a little surprised and slightly alarmed when the doorbell rang. She wasn't expecting a visitor -- and unexpected visitors were never good news. Thankful that Alice was currently busy in the backyard cleaning out Pish and Tish's cage, so she wouldn't immediately leap to answer the door -- a habit which Kimberly was trying desperately hard to train her out of.

__

Even if this place **is** safer than Miami.

She headed to the door and peered through the spy hole. That looked like...

"Rockwell DeSantos I thought you knew better than this!" she exclaimed, flinging the door open.

Rocky offered her a lopsided smile. "I was passing through and thought I'd stop by."

Kimberly allowed him into the house. "Passing through?" she echoed dubiously.

"I'm looking at buying a dojo here," he explained. "'Sha reminded me I was coming over here this afternoon to look at a property -- which was a bust...boy I thought we had wrecks in Angel Grove but this place...!" Rocky shook his head. "Anyway. 'Sha suggested I come see you with the yearbook once I'd done, because you wouldn't be asking to see **this** one if it wasn't something screwy." As he said it, he waved the book he was holding in his left hand.

Kimberly smiled faintly. "'Sha always did know me well."

"Besides," Rocky added, as Kimberly led him into the kitchen, "you sounded worried on the phone. There's nothing up is there?" Kimberly hated the seriousness that had suddenly clouded her long time friend's face. "Dirk..."

"Is still rotting in Dade County Jail, I hope," she cut in.

Rocky smiled in relief. "Good. So...?"

"I met someone this morning," Kimberly explained. "I know her from somewhere -- but I can't place her."

Again Rocky's face clouded with seriousness. "You think she was at AGH before...?"

Kimberly shrugged. "That's just it -- my memories are so screwed up of that time. Between Dirk and...you know who -- I don't know **what** I remember."

Rocky nodded. "Well let's see if we can sort this out, huh?"

~*~

"Come into my parlour, said the spider to the fly." The voice issued forth from a pitch-dark doorway in a dank alley of Forgotten District. Linker and Fenris both looked at Nadira. "And leave the help out there," the voice added, before anyone could say anything.

Squaring her shoulders, Nadira forced herself to enter Arachna's lair.

"So, daddy's little girl has come to pay lil' ol' me a visit," the voice drawled as Nadira stepped into the darkness.

"That's right -- I have."

"Go home, little girl. There's nothing here for you. Just as there wasn't anything here for daddy."

Nadira strained to see the source of the voice in the darkness. "You have information I want."

A match flared and a candle was lit, illuminating a small fraction of the room. "Do I?"

Standing behind the surface the candle was perched on was Arachna. The female mutant was a tall and slender with almost white-blonde hair and eyes that, Nadira knew, were mis-matched -- although that was impossible to tell in the guttering candlelight.

"Go home Nadira -- play with your Time Force toys. I have nothing you want." Nadira's jaw slackened. "I know that's why you're here -- I am the spider at the centre of a web of spies. My limbs reach everywhere; my eyes see everything. "

Nadira didn't feel fear at that revelation, she felt dead. "What are you going to do?"

"Do?" Arachna retorted. "About you? You are insignificant."

"Why?"

Arachna laughed -- a sound that sent a tremor of fear straight down Nadira's spine. "Because it doesn't matter what you or that covert little operation of Alex Collins do. He will beat you -- and then nothing will matter."

"He?" Nadira echoed.

Arachna smiled. "You know who I'm talking about Nadira." She snuffed out the candle, plunging the room back into darkness. "Now go -- and take your odious pair of lackeys with you."

~*~

As Wes finished his room service dinner, his morpher bleeped.

"Wes?" Jen's voice sounded concerned.

Wes chuckled. "I was going to call you once I'd finished eating," he answered, as Jen's holograph formed over his morpher.

"I told you!" commented Eric from somewhere 'off camera'.

"And good evening Eric," Wes added. "How is Del Oro Bay?"

"Full of freshmen girls," said Jen, a mischievous expression on her face.

"Would ya knock that off?!" Eric complained.

Wes' eyebrows shot up. "Jen?"

She chuckled. "Someone's just a little too easy to tease."

"Am not!"

"Children please!" Wes objected, laughing. "So you got there OK?"

Jen smiled and nodded. "You?"

"Apart from solid rain for the last fifteen miles," Wes answered, nodding.

"Which is about par for California in January," Eric observed.

"I know," Wes replied. "Doesn't mean I have to like it."

"Have you found anything yet?" Jen asked.

Wes shook his head. "I figured the best time of day to go poking round the warehouse district would be the evening -- so I'm gonna go check out Gull Street shortly. If there's anything worth another look, I can go back down in daylight tomorrow -- or if not, then I can move on to the other 'hit' here."

Jen nodded. "Sounds like a good plan. Be careful."

Wes smiled. "I will be. How are things looking for you guys?"

"Well -- Eric starts college on Monday..."

"And may I say how much you are both going to owe me for this," Eric put in. "I have to take an engineering math class -- I **hate** math."

Wes grinned. "It could be worse, Eric -- you could have to take art."

"God now **he's** at it," Eric muttered. "What is this? Pick on Eric Myers day?"

"Don't mind him," said Jen, grinning. "He's not had a very good day so far."

"Do I want the explanation?" Wes wondered.

She shook her head. "Probably not."

Wes grinned. "Don't worry Eric -- the day's nearly over."

"Huh!"

"So how about your assignment?" Wes asked, turning his attention back to their mission.

"That's tomorrow's task -- Saturday should see the centre of Del Oro Bay busy, so two extra people looking round the place won't be noticed," Jen explained.

Wes nodded. "Good idea. Be careful?"

Jen smiled. "Of course."

Wes took a glance out of the motel window. Although it was now just about completely dark, he could see that the rain had stopped. "Well, time I got going."

Jen nodded. "Same time tomorrow?" she asked.

"Unless I find something."

She nodded again. "Good luck...I...be safe. Please?"

Wes caught the unspoken words. "I will be," he promised.

Jen smiled. "Good night."

With that, the connection was cut. Wes sighed. If Eric hadn't been within earshot he'd have probably said something a little more personal, but... _Time to worry about your personal relationships later,_ he reminded himself. _Right now, you need to get going. She is counting on you to do this._

~*~

Eric watched as Jen cut the connection. _When Wes gets here on Tuesday, I'll find myself somewhere else to be,_ he decided. _They need to talk..._

"He'll be OK," he said quietly.

Jen jumped. "I know that."

Eric smirked faintly and shook his head. "Well, I know it's early -- but I think I'm going to call it a night."

"You think I'm being silly," Jen observed as Eric got to his feet.

He shrugged. "I think you're letting yourself be ruled by what ifs."

"Everyone I've loved, I've lost." She looked up to meet his gaze. "What's your excuse?"

Eric blinked. "Me?"

"You and Kimberly."

He shook his head. "That's different."

Jen looked sceptical. "How?"

Eric pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to organise his thoughts. "Kimberly is a friend -- that's all there is to it."

Jen was still looking sceptical. "Sure."

Eric slowly shook his head. "I'm too tired to be having this conversation -- just...take it from me, Kimberly wouldn't want me." He was aware of Jen's jaw dropping open at that statement but tiredness prevented him from really caring. "I'll see you in the morning."

Not giving her a chance to reply, Eric headed for the stairs and the relative safety of the bedroom he'd picked. With a sigh, he started to get ready for bed. _First night in a strange place -- and Jen has to drag up my lack-of-a-love life..._ He grimaced and reached for the portable CD player -- maybe he could ward off the nightmares...

~*~

It took several minutes before Jen recovered sufficient self-possession to even think about asking Eric what he meant -- but by that time, he'd made good his escape. _What the hell...? Why is it every conversation I have with Eric leaves me knowing more but understanding less?_

She sighed and shook her head. Even if it was a hypocritical one, Eric **did** have a point. _So what are you going to do about it?_

And then, neatly preventing her from having to think about the answer, she found herself yawning.

__

Guess it has been a long day.

Tomorrow, she would have to try and get hold of Alex to see if there was any new information along with working out how she was going to complete her surveillance mission -- _And buying some proper groceries,_ she added with a faint smile. _I'm not living on take out pizza and popcorn again!_

Slowly she uncurled herself from her seat and followed Eric upstairs, turning the downstairs lights out as she went. But as she reached the top of the stairs, she realised she could hear music. Frowning, she finally realised it was coming from the room Eric had chosen earlier in the day.

__

Music? Jen shook her head, recognising the track as one from the CD Eric had been playing in the SUV. _Well he can't be planning to have it on all night._

With that decided, she headed into the room she'd selected, intending to get ready for bed and go to sleep. But twenty minutes later, lying in the darkness, she realised sleep was not going to be forthcoming. Eric's music was still going -- and it was keeping her awake. _OK -- enough's enough._

Quietly, Jen climbed back out of bed and padded out of her room and into Eric's. To judge from his breathing, he was out like a light -- which was all the stranger, as far as she was concerned, given the volume of the music. _Bet he could sleep through a mutant attack!_

Peering through the half-light coming from the window, Jen finally spotted the CD player. After another moment or two, she found the stop button and pressed it. After the constant presence of the music, the silence was deafening. She smiled. _Now maybe I can get some sleep too._

__

TO BE CONTINUED...


	9. Chapter 8 - The Darkest Hour

Disclaimer: Eric, Wes, Jen, Kim, Alex, Lucas, Trip, Katie and Nadira don't belong to me, they've been borrowed from BVE. No harm no foul no money made. The rest of this story, including Eric's back-story, Director Nechev, Marissa Detourney, Biocon (and all his pseudonyms) and Merck Taylor belongs to me. You're welcome to borrow, but please ask me first.

Please note: This chapter refers back to Scars and also, briefly, to A Cross To Bear -- you'll be able to follow events without having read either, but it may help you if you have done.

Thank you to Gamine, ScarletDeva, Selma, Ekat and Vanessa who've all had bits of this chapter worked off them at one point or another. Thank you, ladies, for helping me with a very challenging chapter.

Warning: While this is still PG-13 in rating, the first scene of this chapter contains disturbing imagery and allusions towards some very nasty stuff. Feel free to skip that scene -- and please do not flame me if you do choose to read it.

~*~

Max Force -- The Darkest Hour...

Jen wasn't sure what woke her.

She'd been soundly asleep, but something had gradually pulled her from that state. Now she lay in bed, listening. And there it was. A sound -- only a tiny one, but one that was so utterly **wrong**.

It was a whimper. 

Not a shout, not a yell, not a scream, just a quiet moan of distress. But having identified it, Jen was at a loss. Where on earth would a sound like that be coming from? It was far too quiet to be coming from someone outside -- besides which, the house was set in its own grounds.

There was only one possible source.

The realisation was a creeping one, but when it finally hit, Jen was up and out of bed in a flash. She had once heard similar sounds from Alex, one night not long before Ransik was captured the first time. She had stayed over and they had been up half the night, talking through the future -- their future as it had been then. Later, she'd woken in the spare room to hear Alex crying out softly in his sleep. When she woke him, all he told her was _'It's nothing -- just a nightmare, you know?'_ Whatever it had been, it had clearly left Alex shaken... And now Eric was in a similar situation.

__

I have to wake him.

She entered Eric's bedroom, expecting to see him tossing and turning as Alex had been and was consequently surprised. Eric's whole body was rigid -- almost as though he was in some kind of restraints. Moonlight from the window now shone almost directly onto his face, highlighting the near mute snarl of pain etched into his expression. And then suddenly, his whole body jerked in response to some unknown stimulus and he screamed.

Jen's blood curdled at the sound. _No human being should ever make that sound._

"Eric?"

The call evoked a response: "Myers, Eric. Master Sergeant. 569-34-9032."

__

What the heck? Jen took an involuntary step forward. "Eric -- wake up."

He gave another scream, then gasped, "Myers, Eric. Master Sergeant. 569-34-9032."

"Eric -- please. Wake up."

"Myers, Eric. Master Sergeant. 569-34-9032."

__

Damn it! "Eric!"

There was another, longer, even more pained scream. "M--yerzeric. M--asters--argent. 5--69-34-9--032."

He was shaking now, violently. _Shock..._Jen realised. _Shit. I have to do something..._ "Eric -- it's a dream. It's not real."

He screamed yet again, this time the sound trailing off into gasped sobs. "M--m--yerzeric...m--'sters--argent...5--693--4--490--32."

The moonlight now highlighted his expression in even more ghastly detail. Tears of, Jen guessed, remembered pain were tracing paths across his cheeks while the snarl was now one of fear.

Then came the worst scream so far as. It was hoarse and raw; a shout of pure agony. After it had finished, it took several moments before he even had the breath to gasp his litany once more: " M--m--yerzeric...m--'sters--argent...5--693--4--490--32."

__

I have two choices, Jen decided, stepping closer to the bed. _I can either stand back and hope he wakes up, or I can force him awake. That's no choice at all._ She reached out, grabbed Eric by the shoulders and shook him, firmly. "Eric, snap out of it. It is just a dream."

With alarming suddenness, Eric's eyes were wide open and staring straight at her. But any relief Jen might have felt on seeing that faded as she felt his hands grip her round the waist.

"You bastard...you can't escape now..."

Jen had long enough to realise that Eric still wasn't actually awake -- and then she found herself being bodily flung across the room. She landed, hard, cracking her head against the wall beneath the window.

Black spots filled her vision and for several moments, Jen thought she was going to pass out.

"Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit."

The chant, Jen realised, was coming from Eric. With agonising slowness, she forced herself to sit up. "You awake now?" she managed, seeing him now sitting upright on the bed.

He looked over at her, his expression plain in the moonlight. He looked like death warmed over. "Are you OK?" 

"I'll live."

"I'm sorry...I...didn't know it was you."

Jen forced a smile onto her face. "Well I hoped it wasn't something personal."

Humour was the wrong way to go. Eric's expression mutated from tired and dismayed to full-blown anger. "What the hell are you doing in here anyway?" he yelled. "Or is respect for other people's privacy something else you don't have in the future?"

Jen swallowed. Even when Eric had been the arrogant jerk who had made the Rangers' lives miserable, she had never been actually scared of him -- she had just thought of him as a small-time bully. But now, here...

"Well?" he snapped.

"You were having a nightmare...I...thought..."

"You thought wrong."

Woozy, Jen managed to get to her feet. "I'm sorry. I don't like to see...or hear...my friends in pain. I'll leave you alone next time."

"Do that," he hissed. "There's the door," he added, pointing, "use it."

Jen stared at him, incredulous. "Of all the..."

"Get. Out."

"I really won't bother next time," Jen muttered and headed, unsteadily, out of Eric's room. _I wish Wes was here..._

~*~

Eric waited until he was sure that Jen had gone back to bed before slipping out of bed and padding across to the window. He'd deliberately picked a room with a view out over the bay, not for the aesthetics, but for the sense of freedom the view provided. It was that very sense of freedom he sought now, in an attempt to regain his equilibrium after the combination of the nightmare itself and what he had just done to Jen. But peace of mind and balance were not forthcoming.

_Why did I do that?_ he wondered. _Why the **hell** did I do that?_

He punctuated the second thought by ramming his fist into the wall beside the window. The pain of bones jarring against one another seemed like a fitting punishment.

__

She was only trying to help.

He pounded the wall again. There was a sharp burst of pain as something went crack. Eric ignored it. He deserved it. He'd been so far out of line...

__

Congratulations, Myers. You've finally succeeded in pushing her away.

He leaned his forehead against the cool glass and closed his eyes.

__

What a mess.

But Eric wasn't sure what he was referring to.

~*~

Kimberly nursed the cup of coffee and stared at the yearbook Rocky had left with her. The coffee had gone cold hours ago, but she didn't care. Her attention was firmly rooted on the page of pictures in front of her.

"That's it," she finally murmured. "I'm sure that's it."

But what did it mean?

~*~

Jen couldn't remember an occasion when she'd had a worse night's sleep. 

Her head ached from where it had connected with the wall. As a consequence, she'd been unable to get back to sleep, and had instead, spent the rest of the night lying in bed, listening. From what she'd been able to hear, Eric hadn't returned to sleep either. She'd heard him slip out of bed not long after she'd vacated his room, although to her surprise, she didn't hear him turn on the CD player again. She did hear him move around the room, though, as though he was pacing -- which he probably was, she realised.

As watery sunlight started to shine through the blinds on her window, she heard Eric leave his room and head downstairs. Sitting up, Jen glanced at her watch and realised it was now seven o'clock.

__

Time to get up.

But the prospect of facing Eric again was not one she relished. It was still fresh in her mind just how different he became when really and truly angry. _This is silly,_ she chided. _You **know** Eric isn't going to hurt you. _Unfortunately, last night had amply highlighted that, in truth, she knew very little about him. Or what he would do.

There was a crash from downstairs, followed by loud and colourful cursing.

__

What the...?

Puzzlement overcame fear.

Jen climbed out of bed and headed downstairs, collecting her robe as she went -- she hadn't bothered with it when Eric's nightmare had woken her, but in the cold light of day...

As she reached the bottom of the stairs, the cursing finally ceased, but it was followed by something that was somehow more disturbing: Nothing. Jen picked up her pace and entered the kitchen to find Eric sitting on the floor, leaning against the base of one of the work surfaces. His knees were drawn up to his chest, his arms wrapped loosely around them, while his head rested against his knees.

"Can't even make a pot of coffee."

The words were barely audible and so filled with self-loathing that whatever anger Jen had left quickly evaporated. From the looks of things, Eric was doing a perfectly good job of beating himself up over what had happened without her saying a word. Then Jen's eyes fell on Eric's left hand. The whole of the back of his hand was an ugly explosion of bruising and misshapen lumps.

Jen hesitated for a long moment, debating what to say.

"I'm sorry." Eric's words took Jen by surprise.

"For what?" It was a silly question, and she knew it the second it left her mouth but there was no calling it back.

Eric slowly looked up. "Take your pick. Last night, this morning -- being a screwed up asshole?" He looked at his hands. "I'll be out of your way by..."

"Oh no you don't." Jen realised with a sudden clarity that Eric was planning to leave. "What are you running from?"

"I should have never said I'd help with this."

"Why?"

"I'm a liability."

"Bullshit," Jen retorted. Eric's head jerked up at that. "Now, you listen to me, Eric. You once told me that teamwork was seeing what needed to be done and doing it because you can do it. Are you telling me that you can't do this?"

Eric's shoulders sagged and he said nothing.

Jen moved into the kitchen proper and knelt in front of him. "Because if you are, then I'm going to have to call you a liar," she continued more gently. Again his head snapped up and for the first time, he met her gaze. She could see the question in his eyes. "Eric I know what you can do. I've seen you do it."

"Yeah," Eric retorted bitterly. "I can throw you across the room because I'm too damn out of it to know who you are." He looked away. "I could have killed you."

Jen nodded. "You could have," she agreed, keeping her voice even and calm. "But you didn't. 'What if' didn't happen -- and it **won't** happen. Trust me on that." He met her gaze once more. "You get one shot at me -- then I start tossing **you** around." Eric's eyes widened at that. "What? You don't think I can?"

He shook his head. "No -- just wondering why everybody threatens me with physical violence."

Jen resisted the temptation to smile just yet. "Because it's the only way to get you to listen. You're a stubborn cuss of a man, Eric Myers -- too stubborn for your own good sometimes."

"Only sometimes?" A watery smile crossed Eric's face. "I must be improving."

It was possibly the weakest attempt at humour Jen had ever heard, but she judged that if Eric was beginning to make jokes -- even weak ones -- things were improving. She smiled faintly. "No more talk about leaving -- you're not a quitter and Wes and I can't do this without you. The three of us are a team."

"The Three Musketeers, huh?" Eric suggested.

Jen grinned. "Something like that," she agreed. "Now -- you wanna tell me what the deal with your hand is?"

For a long second, Jen thought Eric was going to try and fob her off. "I punched the wall," he admitted.

"Do I need to fix a dent in the wall as well?" Jen asked, getting to her feet. Eric said nothing and said it sheepishly. "If I'd brought a medi-kit with me from 3000, I could fix you up here and now." She offered him a hand up. "As it is..."

"It's a trip to the emergency room," Eric finished, resigned.

~*~

Alex frowned at all the data being displayed by the various datapads on his desk. There was no other answer -- much as he would like to think otherwise.

__

Did she know?

He wished he could say that the question was unworthy of him -- that he knew her better than that. But he couldn't. The deeper into this mess he had dug, the less he felt he knew.

Biocon. A mutant who died in a Time Force shoot out in 2981 but no body was ever recovered because the building Biocon had been holing up in had exploded.

Jack Scotts. He too had died in a shoot out -- in 2992. Unlike Biocon, though, a body had been found and buried.

Scott Jackson. A cleaner at Precinct 516 who was hired by Merck Taylor -- the then precinct captain.

John Schott. The man credited with killing Biocon, who also happened to be the first on the scene at Shendraville, Biocon's notorious crime.

But Biocon wasn't dead. Jack Scotts' grave was empty. Scott Jackson disappeared at the same time as Merck Taylor escaped into the past. John Schott disappeared not long after killing Biocon in 2981 and strangely, no-one ever looked for him. Even stranger, the holograph they had on file for John Schott had become irredeemably corrupted.

__

What're the odds that if it wasn't, it would match up, allowing for ageing, to the holograph we do have for Scott Jackson? Alex wondered.

And that holograph of Scott Jackson... Well, Trip was still doing the analysis on the two images, but Katie had already identified it. It was Jack Scotts.

Jack Scotts, John Schott, Scott Jackson...Biocon.

Who was it that was protecting him? Someone had to have been for this not to have come to light at the time. Someone highly placed. Someone powerful. Someone with something to hide.

Nechev's predecessor sprang to Alex's mind -- the one who had covered up the fact that the much celebrated Shendraville survivor wasn't from 2980, never mind Shendraville -- but that didn't feel right. He'd been in on it -- that much was clear -- but he wasn't the only one.

There was someone else.

Nadira said there was a blackmail plot. That was probable -- but what? Or who?

Alex leaned forwards to rest his elbows on the edge of his desk. If Biocon...Scotts...whatever the man's name actually was... If he was blackmailing someone still... If the Shendraville massacre was as a result of a blackmail demand not being met...

Alex felt sick to the pit of his stomach.

__

Too many ifs. Too many questions. Not enough data -- and time feels like it's running out.

~*~

"Are you sure you don't want me to wait for you?" Jen asked as Eric slid out of the SUV.

"Yes," Eric replied, firmly. "Unless you have a really burning desire to sit here for three hours while I fill out forms, get x-rayed and, probably, get stuck into plaster?"

"Three hours?" Jen echoed.

"I'm not about to die. They'll see me when it's convenient for them, not me. Besides -- didn't you want to scout around Del Oro Bay this morning?"

Jen sighed. Eric had a point. "True -- but...what about you?"

Eric gave a lopsided smile. "Jen, I'm a big boy, I can take care of myself. But if it makes you feel any better," he continued, unclipping his cell phone, "take this. That way, when I get done, I can call you for a ride back to the house." He started to hand her the device then stopped. "You do know how to work one of these?"

Jen stared. "Eric, I'm going to pretend you didn't say that."

"Just checking," he said hastily.

Jen grinned. "You're too easy."

Eric glared at her and dropped the cell phone on the now empty passenger seat. "I'll see you later."

Jen giggled. _I really shouldn't wind him up like that,_ she mused, as she watched him enter the emergency room of Del Oro Bay hospital. _But it's far too easy._ She put the SUV into drive and started out of the hospital's parking lot, heading for downtown Del Oro Bay. 

~*~

"Major Collins?"

Alex looked up from the datapad he was studying to see Marissa standing in the doorway of his office.

"Lieutenant Walker's arrived for her briefing and Squad Leader Regis is also here."

Damn -- Trip was early. That was **not** good. "Better send them both in."

"Sir."

Marissa vanished and, moments later, a surprised looking Trip and a mutinous looking Katie entered his office. Before going any further, Alex activated the privacy lock.

"Katie, I'll explain everything in a moment," he promised, "but since Trip's here half an hour early..."

"I have bad news," Trip finished, nodding.

"Just once I'd have liked to have been wrong," Alex mumbled. "OK -- Trip, hit me. What's Nadira uncovered?" Katie's eyes widened at the name but she made no comment.

"She reported in early," Trip explained. "Arachna knows."

Alex put his head in his hands and groaned. "Knows what?" he asked, although he had a nasty suspicion he already knew the answer.

"Everything."

That startled Alex and for the first time, he thought there might be a ray of hope. "Everything?" He looked up to see Trip giving a half smile.

"I have some good news as well," the Xybrian officer explained. "Arachna knows what Biocon's plan is."

"Biocon?" Katie exclaimed, joining the conversation.

Alex nodded. "Biocon," he agreed. "And yes, I know he's supposed to be dead." Katie nodded and subsided. Alex turned back to Trip. "Nadira's sure about this?"

Trip nodded. "Everything she's dug up in Forgotten District points to Biocon having a long term plan -- which we knew already. And it also all points to Arachna's information web being involved -- which is almost certainly how Taylor knew about Captain Logan's operation to trap Ransik."

Katie's eyes widened at that, but she said nothing. "I don't know whether to be relieved about that last bit or not," Alex muttered. He frowned for a few moments and came to a decision. "Time we all knew where we stand on this. Trip -- can you go and collect Nadira and bring her here for the 1000 hours meeting?"

Trip nodded, a little startled. "Sure."

"Privacy lock cancel, authorisation Juliet red two."

"Privacy lock deactivated," the computer announced.

Alex sighed. "Thanks Trip -- and if you can ask Marissa to come in for a moment?"

Trip nodded. "Yes, sir." With that, Trip left the office.

Moments later and Marissa entered. "Sir?"

"I need you to contact Director Nechev of Temporal and Captain Logan of Crime and invite them to the meeting at 1000 hours," Alex explained. Marissa looked startled. "I know it's short notice, I'm sorry. And please indicate to them that it's urgent."

Marissa nodded, still looking startled. "Yes, sir."

Once she had left the office again, Alex reactivated the privacy lock.

"What the hell is going on here, Alex?" Katie asked as soon as the computer had given confirmation of the lock.

Alex gave a sigh. "Like I said to you yesterday, we are deep in the shit -- and getting deeper by the second."

__

TO BE CONTINUED...


	10. Chapter 9 - Truth and Consequences

Disclaimer: Wes, Jen, Eric, Kimberly, Alice, Alex, Nadira, Lucas, Katie, Trip and Captain Rob Logan don't belong to me. They're borrowed from BVE without permission, but no harm, no foul, no money made. Eric's back story, Director Nechev, Marissa Detourney, Arachna, Biocon and all his aliases do belong to me and while you're welcome to borrow, asking me first would be nice.

With very grateful thanks to Gamine, Irina, Ekat and Vanessa -- a tireless cheer squad, sounding board and general lifeline to my sanity when bits of this weren't working. Also to Selma who kept me hard at it with sundry threats and bribes. Ladies, thank you.

Hold on to your hats, folks -- this one's a biggie...

~*~

Max Force -- Truth and Consequences

"What are you planning on telling Wes?"

Jen glanced in Eric's direction as she pulled out of the hospital's parking lot once more. "About what?" she asked.

"This," he replied, tapping the cast that was now encasing his left hand. "And last night."

Jen smiled faintly. "It's up to you."

"Huh?"

Jen pulled onto the San Marco road. "What am I going to say? You attacked me? Hardly -- I know damn well you were asleep. I know that's no consolation to you and I know you feel that's no excuse but if I'm even part right with what you were dreaming about..."

"What do you know about that?"

Jen could hear the tension in Eric's voice and she picked her next words very, very carefully. "I don't **know** anything about it," she replied, stressing the word know, hoping he would realise she was guessing -- that no-one had betrayed any confidences. "No-one has told me anything about 'it' -- whatever 'it' is..."

"But you're from the future. Can't you just..."

"Look people and places up?" Jen suggested. "If it was that simple, Alex would have looked up where Biocon touched down and end of problem."

"Good point," Eric mumbled sheepishly.

Jen smiled again. "There are rules about how much detail knowledge a Time Force officer can know about any given time. We tend to get the big events, the things that would have a bearing on a mission, but beyond that... We're certainly not allowed to look up individuals just to see why they act like they do." Jen snickered. "No matter how tempting it might be -- or how irritatingly taciturn the individual is."

"I guess I asked for that, huh?"

"You did," Jen agreed lightly.

"So...if you don't know..."

Jen sighed and glanced in Eric's direction. "Some things are universal," she replied quietly. "You were repeating your name, rank and ID number."

"Oh." The word was softly spoken and Jen got the impression that Eric was quietly steeling himself to explain.

"Uh-uh. You don't need to tell me. In fact," Jen admitted, "I'd rather you didn't."

"That's a first."

Jen gave a careful shrug. "I'm a cop at the end of the day. I've got a pretty good idea of just how cruel human beings can be to one another, and," she added quietly, "don't forget that I know about the scars."

There was silence from the passenger seat. Jen risked a glance at Eric to see that he'd paled at the mention.

"Sorry..."

"You know, don't you." Eric's words were flat, transforming what should have been a question into a statement.

"I don't know -- but I can guess all too easily."

Silence hung heavily on the air as they drove into San Marco. Jen couldn't help but shudder as she digested the unspoken admissions from Eric. Suddenly a lot of things about him were making sense. It was terrible and shocking -- and saddening -- but it made sense. Pity reared its head and she forced that back. Roles reversed, she knew the last thing she would want would be pity. Besides, she respected him too much to pity him.

"So, did you figure out how you're going to do your surveillance?" Eric asked.

It was a blatant, unashamed subject change. "Yeah, actually." Jen let it pass. "There's a deli next door to N'Tek's headquarters."

Eric choked. It sounded suspiciously like laughter.

"What?"

"You're planning on sitting in a deli?" He was laughing. 

She knew it! She should have been offended -- but given the last twelve hours, Jen was willing to allow him some fun at her expense. _Besides,_ she thought with an internal smirk, _I'm about to spoil his fun._ "Nope."

The laughter abruptly stopped. "Nope?"

"Nope."

"Care to let me in on this, then?"

Jen relented. "They had a sign in the window for delivery staff, specifying office delivery."

There was a long moment. Then Eric started to laugh again. 

"What?" Jen was now feeling more than somewhat aggravated as she pulled into Vista Del Oro's drive way.

"Sorry," Eric apologised. "I was just thinking that you really seem to have a real lucky streak. You ran into Wes the first time you came here -- now you land the perfect cover job..." He shook his head and laughed again.

Jen found herself smiling. "Yeah -- guess it is kinda lucky. Although I didn't think bumping into Wes was all that lucky the first time I met him."

"So I heard."

Jen parked the SUV. "What did he tell you?"

Eric shrugged. "Not much, really -- just enough for me to get the basic idea...and to explain who that je...um...who Alex was."

Jen smirked. "Jerk?" she suggested.

"He made me sound like a reasonable guy -- and I **was** being a jerk," Eric muttered defensively.

Jen smiled. "Not by then you weren't. Stubborn, yes. Arrogant, yes. A jerk, no -- Conwing took care of that." Jen started to climb out of the SUV, then realised that Eric was staring at her. "What?"

"You're kidding!" He sounded stunned.

Jen tried hard not to look surprised, although it was a struggle. His words from the journey north came back to her: _When you're used to people lying to you on a daily basis, it gets hard to believe it when people are honest with you_. "No, I'm not," she replied quietly, willing him to believe her.

It took a few moments, then he nodded -- and looked a little sheepish. "Sorry."

Jen offered him a smile. "It's OK." He started climb out of the SUV. "C'mon -- we have things to do."

"We do?" Eric echoed, dubiously.

"We do," Jen confirmed. "There are groceries to unpack and I need to try and speak to Alex."

~*~

Wes yawned widely as he slowly rolled down Gull Street.

It hadn't been the complete and utter bust he'd expected the night before, but it hadn't been terribly productive either. From the looks of what he'd found at the warehouse, Biocon and Taylor **had** been there. The burned out time warper device had proved that -- and Wes didn't want to know how he knew that's what the charred lump of metal was. But there were no signs of either criminal now.

He was now just double-checking his findings in daylight, partly in the hopes of finding people hanging around the area who might have seen something.

"Hey, man -- y'lost?"

The voice was loud enough to be heard over the bike's engine. Wes pulled to a halt and looked around for the source. Standing in front of a nearby warehouse was a scruffy looking youth.

"Nope -- just lookin' 'round."

The youth grinned. "You're the third guy this month who's said that to me."

Wes stared. "Third?"

The youth grinned again and nodded. "Yeah."

Wes cut the engine and climbed off the bike. "These other two guys...what where they like?"

The youth shrugged. "What's it worth to ya to know?"

Wes sighed inwardly. "Depends on how much information you've got, now, doesn't it?"

The youth snickered. "Good answer, man. I like you." Wes wondered what that meant. "You're better than those other two geeks."

Wes headed across the street to the youth, pulling of his helmet. "What did these other guys look like?" The youth held his hand out, rubbing his thumb across his fingers in the age-old gesture for 'pay up'. Wes pulled his wallet out and produced a twenty-dollar bill. The youth reached for it, but Wes held it just out of his reach. "Ah-ah. What did these guys look like?"

The youth gave Wes an appraising look. "Make it forty and I'll tell you what they said."

"Twenty now, twenty when you're done."

The youth sighed. "Man, you drive a hard bargain -- this must be real important to ya."

Wes smiled. "Maybe. Now, how about you tell me what these guys looked like?"

The youth sighed again. "All right, all right. They were real hard to forget. One of the guys was...like...dressed like one of those Arab guys."

Wes frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Well...like...he was wearing this real long robe..." The youth suddenly clicked his fingers. "Like...y'know Obi Wan Kenobi."

Wes nodded. He had a nasty suspicion that was what the youth had meant, but he had to be sure. _Biocon all right._ "What about the other guy?"

The youth shrugged. "He was weird. Into white leather in a big way -- which is kinda kinky."

If Wes had any doubts about who the two other guys were, that confirmed it. "You're sure about that?"

The youth nodded vigorously. "I swear it."

Wes handed over the twenty. "You want to earn another?"

The youth nodded. "Sure thing, man."

"Do you know where they went?"

"Ya looking for them?"

Wes smiled faintly. "You could say that, yeah."

The youth grinned. "I guessed. As for where they went: North. Don't know where, exactly...but Jedi Guy said something about 'right time, wrong place' and Leather Dude said something about 'it's further north.'"

__

Which figures. "You've got no idea what 'it' was?"

The youth shook his head. "Nu-uh. I didn't get that close to them. Jedi guy was cree-pee."

Wes sighed and nodded. "OK. One last question -- when was this?"

For a second, Wes thought the youth was going to demand another twenty. "New Year's Day."

__

Exactly three weeks ago, Wes realised. "You're sure about that?"

Another vigorous nod. "Yeah, man -- at first I thought it was cuz of what I'd drunk the night before...man what a party!"

"You thought what was?" Wes asked.

"There was, like, this big flash of light...then Jedi Guy and Leather Dude appeared. Wasn't until they started talking in English that I knew they were real."

Murmuring thanks, and handing over the second twenty, Wes headed back across the street to where he'd parked his bike. _Three weeks...they could have gotten a long way in three weeks._ There was something else that nagged at him about the timing as he rode away from Gull Street but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. _Maybe Eric will know when I contact them..._

~*~

Eric perched on the stool watching Jen bustle around the kitchen. He'd offered to help her with whatever it was she was doing but she'd pointedly told him to 'sit! You're supposed to be keeping that arm up not putting groceries away or setting up a holoscreen.' So, instead, Eric sat on the stool and watched.

"This," she explained, producing a leather pouch, "is a holoscreen."

"No it isn't," Eric objected, "it's a leather pouch."

"Ha-ha." She took out two three-inch long metal cylinders. She stood them up on the work surface and extended them both, rather like radio antenna, until they were roughly twelve inches long. From the pouch, she produced something else that looked akin to a garage door opener and pressed it.

The holoscreen flared into life.

Eric couldn't help but stare at the image that formed. Aside from the black hair and the obviously strained expression, it could have been Wes. "Jen!"

"Captain Scotts reporting as ordered, sir" Jen replied.

Alex -- that was who it had to be -- smiled faintly. "It's OK, Jen, you can drop the formalities." Alex peered. "You must be Eric," he added.

"Sir." There was something about Alex that set Eric's teeth on edge -- and it wasn't just the disconcerting similarity between Alex and Wes. Jen's head whipped round and looked him. Eric offered her a shrug. Alex, too, seemed a little surprised by the abruptness in his tone of voice. "Sorry -- painkillers haven't quite kicked in," he added, gesturing to the sling with his right hand.

Alex's eyes widened. "Do I want to know?"

"Probably not," Jen decided, in a tone of voice that suggested to Eric he was probably going to be in trouble with her when she'd finished talking to Alex.

"What can I do for you, Jen?" Alex asked.

"Just checking in," Jen answered. "Wanted to let you know that we're all set for the surveillance."

Alex nodded. "Good." There was a momentary pause. "I'm actually about to hold a meeting here," he admitted. "To discuss...developments."

__

Oh boy -- and I thought the military had a good turn of euphemism. Eric rolled his eyes.

"I may well have some new information for you in about an hour or so," Alex added.

"We'll be here," Jen promised. Alex smiled and the holoscreen picture fizzled out. Sure enough, the second the connection vanished, Jen rounded on Eric. "What was that all about?"

Eric shrugged as best he could, given the sling. "I don't know." The answer was short, but it had the merit of also being honest.

"You really don't like the guy, do you," Jen observed.

He shrugged again. "I don't know the guy."

"But you don't like him."

Eric sighed. "There's something not scanning right with him. I don't know...maybe it's just because he looks so much like Wes without being Wes." Eric knew full well that wasn't the reason, but Jen seemed to accept it.

"It is disconcerting," she agreed.

There was a momentary silence. "So what now?" Eric asked.

Jen sighed. "I guess we've now got a chance to go over the surveillance targets."

Eric smirked faintly. "That could be a good idea," he agreed, sliding off the stool. "Where're the notes?"

Jen looked faintly surprised. "You're offering to get them?"

"Any reason I shouldn't? It's only my hand in plaster -- not anything else. Besides," he added, heading out of the kitchen, "that stool's uncomfortable."

Jen giggled and shook her head. "Sorry. Be my guest -- the notes are in my bag...which is in the living room."

Eric nodded, and wandered through into the living room. There was Jen's duffle bag lying on the couch. He opened it and retrieved the sheaf of paper notes and the datapad from it and was about to head back to the kitchen when something else caught his eye.

~*~

Alex watched as the holoscreen connection faded.

"Alex -- why didn't you say I was here?" Katie asked.

He gave a long sigh. "It wasn't germane."

For a second, he thought Katie was going to lunge across his desk and strangle him. "You don't trust her!" she exclaimed.

Alex put his head in his hands. "Right now -- with what I know, and what you know... Katie, if my suspicions are even half right..." He slowly looked back at Katie, feeling old and tired far beyond his years. "I want to be wrong. I **so** want to be wrong about this."

Marissa appeared in the doorway. "Sir? Everyone's here."

Alex nodded, masking his despair. "Show them in, Marissa -- let's get this show on the road."

~*~

Eric stared at the small, stuffed toy.

His first reaction had been to laugh but that reaction was stilled. A stuffed toy was incongruous -- but this one especially so. He didn't claim to be a soft toy expert by any stretch of the imagination, but exposure to Alice had increased his knowledge -- and he would swear that the lop-eared dog he was looking at was a Beanie Baby, and a well-loved one at that.

"Eric?" Eric looked up to find Jen standing in the doorway, looking at him, bemused. "What's up?"

"Just..." He sighed. "Nothing."

Jen looked sceptical. "Nothing?"

"Just...struck me I'll need to get some college stuff ready for class on Monday." _You're a lousy liar, Myers._

Jen gave him a look that clearly told him, 'yeah, right'. "If you say so," was all she actually said.

"So...these surveillance targets..."

They headed back into the kitchen so that the notes could be spread across the table. Eric did his best to concentrate on the task at hand, but at the back of his mind he was wondering about the toy.

__

Why on earth would Jen have a Beanie Baby, well loved or otherwise?

~*~

Alex surveyed the occupants of his office. Conditions were more than slightly cramped, and everyone looked tense -- with the exception of Director Nechev, who looked as stern and forbidding as ever.

"Alex?" she said. "You called us here -- what's this about?"

Alex gave a nod. "Thank you all for coming -- I know it was short notice for some of you," he looked at Rob Logan, then Nechev, then Nadira, offering them all a silent apology. "I thought it was time we all knew where we stand. Rob -- I'll fill you in on the details later. The cliff notes version is we've got a major plot on our hands. And I do mean major. Director -- would you be so kind as to explain what you found as regards the Shendraville survivor?"

Nechev smiled faintly and inclined her head. "Certainly. Succinctly put, there was no survivor at Shendraville. The child was a victim of a Time Storm, pulled from her native time into this one."

Alex nodded. "And we're almost certain that Biocon did this deliberately. The 'survivor' was recommended for Memory Adaptation...and mysteriously," Alex added, "that's where the trail of records ceases. We have no clue as to who the 'survivor' is -- she would be twenty-six now -- or where she went after the Memory Adaptation...or even what the MA actually did. It is more than likely," he concluded, "that the 'survivor' is another of Biocon's biological weapons, just waiting to be unleashed."

In the silence that followed Alex scanned the room. Nadira, Marissa, Lucas and Trip looked openly shocked. Rob was more adept at hiding his surprise -- but it was there. Nechev had known the revelation was coming. Katie looked pale.

"As if that wasn't bad enough," Alex continued, breaking the silence, "there's three other problems. First and foremost, Biocon is now back. Reports of his death, apparently, were greatly exaggerated. Secondly, Biocon appears to have had some kind of long term plan -- possibly a blackmail or extortion plot. Thirdly, Biocon's whereabouts. We know a great deal about the first. In fact, the first problem has been sickeningly easy to piece together, which makes me very, very nervous about the second. For all this to have been covered up, either Time Force have been extremely stupid over the last twenty years, or there are some high powered players involved. What **hard** evidence we have of or for the second problem is minimal, but, and this is where TF Crime comes in, Rob, we do now have a source." Alex glanced at Nadira.

"Arachna," she supplied quietly.

"You want me to pull her in?" Rob asked.

Alex nodded. "Yes. And the quicker the better."

"You've got it."

~*~

After having checked the other potential hit in San Diego -- which proved to be a total bust -- Wes had headed back to the motel he was staying in.

The original plan had been for him to head up to Del Oro Bay on Tuesday -- but that had assumed he'd found something worth investigating for longer. The trail was colder than the arctic here. Wherever Biocon and Taylor were, it was north of here, and given all the other intelligence 'hits' were well towards San Francisco, Wes was willing to bet his morpher that there was nothing left here to find.

So with that in mind, he'd swiftly repacked his backpack, checked out and hit the road.

He didn't know quite why, but he suddenly had the strongest urge to be with Jen.

In the same way as he had instinctively known to stick around Silverhills' central area on the day he first met Jen and the other rangers; in the same way as he had known that Jen was in trouble before she walked into the clock tower after Steelix had taken her morpher; he just **knew** he had to get to Del Oro Bay.

Bakersfield was looming. That was the half way point and it was still only late afternoon. At this rate, he'd be in Del Oro Bay -- and at the house in San Marco -- by ten pm.

He made a decision and took the next exit. He'd be no good to anyone if he crashed because of tiredness.

__

Half an hour, then I'm on my way again.

~*~

The meeting was over.

Alex sat back and looked at Katie. She looked totally shaken.

"You think..." she began.

Alex gave a tired shrug. "I don't know what to think. But if you were in my position, you'd be taking care." Reluctantly, Katie nodded. "So for the time being, she doesn't know about your recommission."

Katie nodded. "Yes, sir."

Alex offered her a faint smile and pressed call on his holoscreen. Moments later and an image of Jen formed. "Hello again," he said.

"Alex." She offered a tight smile. In the background, Alex could see Eric frowning.

__

Join the list of people who hate me, Alex thought morosely. Aloud, he just said, "I don't have anything new for you **just** yet, but we do have a break through. I'll keep you posted."

"OK, thank you, sir."

"Good luck with the surveillance."

"Thank you, sir."

Alex cut the connection and looked back at Katie. "Am I doing the right thing?"

~*~

Jen glanced at Eric.

"You're right," she said. "There is something wrong."

"If this investigation's as big as you say," Eric replied, "he's probably just strung out from chasing his own tail."

Jen studied Eric's expression. He was a horrible liar -- and there were none of the signs that he was lying this time. "You're probably right." She shelved the issue for the time being. "Now -- about Laura Chan..."

~*~

Two squads of Time Force officers quietly surrounded the building Nadira had indicated as being Arachna's lair. Once they were in position, Captain Logan gave her a nod.

Nervously, Nadira approached the building. Her task was simple. Enter Arachna's lair, discharge a flashbomb and let the Time Force officers do the rest. But if it was so simple, why did she feel so scared?

__

You can do this.

She reached the darkened doorway.

"Arachna!"

"I thought I told you to go home, little girlie," came Arachna's response.

"I have a business proposition for you," Nadira replied, hoping her voice was steady. "There's a big reward in it for you."

"Reward? I don't need a reward."

__

She's not buying this! "You do need this one."

Before Nadira could do anything else, a pair of hands materialised out of the gloom and dragged her into the black room.

"What reward could **you** possibly have that **I** could possibly want?" Arachna hissed. Nadira was petrified. She wanted to scream and couldn't. "Hm? You have nothing I want."

"But I do have this."

From somewhere Nadira found the courage to detonate the flashbomb. Arachna screamed in complete agony as the harsh light attacked her sensitive, mis-matched eyes. Nadira knew her own sight was temporarily gone thanks to the flash, but she could hear the Time Force officers rushing into the building now, even as she felt Arachna reel away from her. The bustle around her was almost as frightening as the master spy's grip had been.

"Arachna, you're under arrest!" That was Captain Logan's voice -- that cut through the fear. It meant that Arachna was captured now.

"Nadira?" That was Trip's voice -- and she could hear pride in it. "You did it."

Nadira realised she was shaking. "I did it?" she echoed.

And to her surprise, she felt someone's lips brush against her temple. "You did it," Trip confirmed.

Suddenly, Nadira didn't feel scared any more.

~*~

Kimberly heard the knock on the door as she was attempting to sort herself out, ready to go to work.

"I got it!" Alice called.

"Alice, honey -- don't..." It was too late; Kimberly heard the front door open.

Then she heard Alice scream.

Kimberly dashed out of her bedroom and stopped dead.

"You didn't think you'd escaped from me, did you?"

__

TO BE CONTINUED...


	11. Chapter 10 - One Night...

Disclaimer: Jen, Eric, Wes, Kim, Rocky, Alex and Trip aren't mine, they're borrowed without permission from BVE. No harm, no foul, no money made. Arachna and Dirk Cunningham do belong to me, you're welcome to borrow them (although I can't quite see why you'd want Dirk), but asking me first would be nice.

With thanks to Selma (cattle prodding), Ekat (help in very trying circumstances), Vanessa (advice) and Gamine (advice, support and beta'ing). Ladies, you're wonderful.

Warnings: Again, while this is still PG-13, there are some mature themes dealt with.

Please offer feedback -- it tells me how I'm doing; glad folks are still enjoying this.

~*~

Max Force -- One Night…

Dinner was pasta and store bought sauce, which Jen cooked and cleared up from.

"I can help," Eric offered.

Jen just looked at him. "Your left hand is in plaster. Don't be an ass. Sit." She pointed in the direction of the stools.

"I'm not a dog," Eric muttered, meekly doing as he was told.

Jen snickered and turned back to the sink. "Besides, it's not like this is going to take long."

Eric sighed. "Sorry."

"What for?"

"For being a pain in the ass."

Jen looked over her shoulder at him. "You're not being. You're about to be very useful."

"How?"

"Tell me what we've got on Jefferson Smith."

Eric gave a half smile and picked up that batch of notes, only to have to put it down again as his cell phone started ringing. "Sorry." Jen laughed. "Myers," he continued, answering the call.

"Is that Eric Myers?"

Eric frowned. The speaker was not familiar, and there was no caller ID. "Yes it is."

"My name's Rocky DeSantos -- I'm a friend of Kim's."

Fear blossomed in Eric's gut. "What's happened?"

Eric heard Rocky release a breath, clearly steeling himself to give an explanation. "Kim's been...hurt."

He felt like he was in freefall. "What?"

Rocky had clearly worked out what he wanted to say now as the next words came out quickly and without hesitation. "Kim was attacked. I ran the guy off but...not in time. She's in ICU."

__

No. Not Kimberly... "What about Alice?"

There was a lengthy pause. "I think you should get here," Rocky finally said, avoiding the question altogether.

"What about Alice?" Eric repeated, now fearing the worst. "Is she..." But he couldn't bring himself to finish the question. Couldn't bring himself to even think it.

"No," said Rocky hastily. "At least..." And Rocky sighed. "We don't know."

"What do you mean?" Eric croaked.

"Alice is missing." Eric felt sick. "How soon can you be in Silverhills?"

"Two hours," he answered automatically.

"OK -- I'll fill you in on all the details when you get here," Rocky promised.

Eric started to disconnect the call, when a thought crossed his mind. "How did you know to call me?"

In spite of the situation, Rocky gave a chuckle. "You're the only person in Silverhills she's ever told me about and your phone number was pinned up by her phone with 'in case of emergencies' written next to it."

"Oh."

"See you in two hours."

This time, Eric did disconnect the call. That was when he realised that Jen was now standing in front of him, looking very worried. "Eric?" she asked. "What's happened?"

"Something's happened to Kim -- I have to get back...to Silverhills."

"Are you all right to drive?"

Eric blinked. "I gear shift with my right hand."

"That isn't what I meant," Jen replied. "Eric, you're in shock."

  
"I have to go."

"What good are you going to be to Kim if you drive straight off the interstate?"

Eric swallowed and managed to gather together some of his widespread wits. Jen had a good point. _OK. Calm. I can do calm. Panic isn't going to help Kimberly -- or Alice._ "I'll be all right," he finally said, having regained control of his roiling emotions.

He got the impression that Jen was studying him before she finally offered a nod and produced the keys to the SUV. "Let me know how she is," Jen instructed.

"I will do."

With that, Eric headed out of the house to start the two-hour drive south.

~*~

In deference to Arachna's photosensitivity, the lights in the interview room were dimmed to a bare minimum. Alex folded his arms across his chest and sat back, studying the master spy. In some circumstances, he decided, the slender mutant would be attractive, but certainly not under these. While her face might be beautiful, it was currently marred by a thoroughly ugly sneer.

"You have nothing on me, Major," she asserted. "You have no reason to hold me."

"You're quite wrong," Alex answered softly, infusing a threat of danger into his voice. "There is a rap sheet a mile long with your name on it. I know all the operations you spied on and blew wide open. I know the names of all your operatives -- and we will be cleaning them up in the next few days, I can promise you that. If nothing else," he continued, "I have you on grounds of attempted murder."

Arachna looked uneasy beneath the scowl. "That's ridiculous!" she exclaimed. "Whose murder?"

Alex leaned forward until he was only inches away from the female mutant's face. "Mine."

Arachna paled.

"I can prove," he explained, "that through your spy network, Ransik got to hear that there was a planned bust in Forgotten District that should have captured him once and for all, and through that advance warning, he developed a counter plan. One where my death was very much intended."

"You can't prove that!"

"Try me," Alex retorted. "I can prove every word of what I have just said. I have sworn affidavits from, amongst others, Ransik and Nadira who are both prepared to stand up in court and say the information came from you."

"But..." Arachna floundered, completely shocked. "You're lying."

"You want to risk that? Given the charge of attempted murder, on top of all the other charges, you're looking at a very, very, very long jail term Arachna."

Alex sat back and watched as his words sank in. It was going to be a long interrogation. He was bluffing about the affidavit from Ransik -- as of yet, he didn't dare approach the authorities to question Ransik about this -- but Nadira had sworn one, and the rap sheet was only part bluff. None of that showed on his face though. He had long since perfected a poker face when it came to interviewing suspects.

It was a long silence. Alex allowed it to hang, weighing over Arachna like the proverbial sword of Damocles. He had made the opening gambit in the dance -- it was up to her now where this went.

~*~

Wes didn't think he'd ever been quite so pleased to see the off ramp for Bay Avenue, Del Oro Bay. He had made better than good time since leaving Bakersfield -- largely by dint of not paying complete attention to his speed.

__

Good thing there were no cops around.

As he headed along the San Marco road, he wondered what Jen's reaction would be to his early arrival. More to the point, he wondered what Eric would do. Wes hoped that Eric would give them some privacy. He and Jen needed to talk -- and while they could go to a bar, it would be easier to have the discussion somewhere where they didn't have to shout.

San Marco finally loomed out of the darkness, an even bigger sight for sore eyes than the Bay Avenue off ramp.

__

Just another mile and...

Over the noise of the bike engine, he caught the faint sound of his morpher bleeping.

__

You couldn't have waited five minutes?

Wes groaned softly and pulled to the side of the road.

"Wes?"

"I'm here, Jen," Wes answered, now that the bike was stationary.

In so far as he could tell, she looked relieved. "I've tried calling you about five times in the last half hour -- I was starting to get worried." She peered. "Oh."

Wes smiled, although he knew she couldn't see it thanks to his bike helmet. "I have some good news -- and some news about you know what."

"You do?" Jen was surprised. "What?"

"Well, I'll fill you in on what I found in about five minutes time."

She looked puzzled. "Uh, why?"

"Because that's when I should be just about walking through the front door of Vista Del Oro -- assuming you guys let me in." This time, there was no mistaking it: Jen looked relieved. "Jen?"

"Eric's had to go back to Silverhills."

"What? Why?"

Jen gave a sigh. "I don't know all the details...but it's something to do with Kimberly."

Wes swore softly. "Give me five, Jen and I'll be with you."

Jen nodded and cut the connection. Wes pulled back onto the road. Well within the predicted time, he was pulling up in front of Vista Del Oro. Memories of holidays here with his parents swarmed forth in a bittersweet rush and it took a moment before he could bring himself to climb off the bike, in which time, Jen had opened the front door and had come out to meet him.

"I'm glad you're here," she admitted, quietly.

"Not keen on being alone, huh?" But there was no sort of censure in his voice.

"Not really," she admitted.

Wes nodded, finally removed his helmet and offered her a smile. "Me either."

"You're just saying that," Jen accused as he pulled out a tarpaulin to cover his bike with as protection from any over night rain.

Wes glanced at her. "I grew up in my own company, or in the company of people only interested in me because of my father. Believe me, I appreciate proper company." Satisfied his bike would now stay dry over night, he gestured to the house. "Shall we go inside?"

"Sure."

There was something in Jen's tone of voice that told Wes she didn't believe him. "Jen," he said quietly, "I don't deal in platitudes. I've heard far too many in my life."

She turned back to face him. "I'm sorry...I didn't..." She swallowed. "You're too good to be true."

"Why?" Wes asked.

"You understand. And you don't push..." Jen shook her head. "You're right. We should go inside -- it's getting cold."

Wes couldn't disagree with the temperature assessment -- although the rest of what Jen had just said surprised him. He followed her into the house. Someone -- and he guessed probably Eric before he left -- had lit the fire in the open hearth which meant that the house was lovely and warm. After a long bike journey north, that was something Wes could appreciate.

"So what did you find out in San Diego?" Jen asked, clearly changing the subject, as Wes dumped his backpack and started to strip off his jacket and gloves.

"Biocon was there -- but he's long gone." Wes related what he'd found at the Gull Street warehouse, and what the youth had said to him.

"You believe the kid?" Jen queried.

Wes shrugged. "He had no reason to lie to me and I can't see any reason for Biocon or Taylor to have set up a false trail."

Jen nodded. "You're probably right."

"So what's new here?" Wes asked, and it was his turn to listen as Jen filled him in on what had occurred. "Sounds like you struck it lucky with that deli," he observed.

"That was what Eric said," Jen replied, smiling faintly.

"Speaking of which..."

Jen sighed. "I don't know. We were going over the surveillance data after dinner when his cell phone rang. Next thing I know, he's turned as white as a sheet. All he said was 'It's Kim and Alice -- I gotta go' and he all but took off like a scalded cat."

Wes grimaced. "I don't know why he can't admit he loves them -- if anything happens to them he's going to..." He trailed off as he saw the expression on Jen's face. "What?"

"He said something to me last night," Jen replied. Wes lifted his eyebrows. "He said Kimberly wouldn't want 'someone like him'."

Wes winced. "Oh boy. That man has more emotional hang-ups than..." He stopped himself as he realised that Jen almost certainly wouldn't know what he meant by the Jerry Springer Show.

~*~

When asked later, Eric couldn't tell anyone a single thing about the drive back to Silverhills. It passed by in a blur. Kimberly was seriously hurt. Alice was missing. The two thoughts repeating over and over again as a constant refrain.

Finally he reached Silverhills' city limits. On automatic pilot, he selected the correct off ramp for central Silverhills and was soon speeding through the streets towards the hospital. Pulling into the parking lot of the hospital, he barely waited for the vehicle to stop before he was climbing out and heading towards the hospital buildings. He knew where ICU was and he started to head in that direction, only to be waylaid.

"Wha..."

"Eric?" Eric slowly turned to look at the person. It was a tall, athletic looking Hispanic man. "Right?"

"Yeah...but..."  


"I'm Rocky DeSantos." The man introduced himself.

It took several seconds for that to penetrate the fog surrounding Eric's mind. "Kim's friend?"

Rocky nodded. "I'd show you where Kim is, but she's in surgery right now."

It was only the fact that Rocky's arm was still around Eric's shoulders that prevented him from falling at the news. "Surgery?"

Rocky nodded in sympathy. Eric found himself being led across the reception area to a comfortable bench seat. "Internal bleeding," Rocky explained. "They didn't really tell me what was going on -- friends don't count as 'need to know' right now."

"What happened?" Eric asked.

Rocky sighed. "Has she told you about Dirk?" Silently Eric shook his head. "Alice's dad -- her ex-husband. Really, really nasty piece of work." 

~*~

"What do you want?" Arachna asked, finally, flatly.

She was worried all right. Alex could see it in her expression. He allowed himself a tiny smile; one that he knew was anything but friendly. "Well, now. There's a question," he said. "I want what you deal in: Information."

"And what do I get?"

"That depends on how good your information is and whether you tell me everything I want to know."

"I want the attempted murder charge dropped."

Alex feigned surprise. That was exactly the response he was expecting, but better to look surprised -- make her think she was on top. For now. "If you want that dropped," he replied, "your information had better be very, very good."

He watched as she processed his response. "It's good."

"Prove it," he challenged.

"I can give you names, places and times of every heist and hit that's due to go down for the next six months."

Alex pretended to consider her statement. She probably **could** give that kind of list, but Time Force Crime already had a pretty good idea of what was likely to go down. "Not good enough," he replied flatly.

She looked shocked -- although not as shocked as if she had been really surprised by his answer. Rather, she was startled by his flat turn down. "What? Why?"

"You want me to drop a charge of attempted murder, Arachna," Alex reminded her. "**My** attempted murder. I really don't like people trying to kill me. In fact," he added, leaning forward once more, "I tend to take a very dim view of it."

Arachna paled again.

"I want to see someone punished for trying to kill me. In fact, what I want to see happen is that the brains behind that attempt gets the punishment. And right at this moment, Arachna, that's you."

"Are you threatening me?"

Alex sat back, that intimidating smile on his face once more. "Me, no. Just telling you where you stand."

Another long, thick, cloying silence descended. Alex watched as Arachna squirmed. Gone was the sneer and the façade of control -- she was rattled.

"But I didn't **tell** Ransik!" she finally blurted.

Again, Alex feigned surprise. "Oh? It wasn't your information that set me up?"

"Yes...no...but..."

"Yes, no, but, what?"

"I didn't deal with Ransik -- I couldn't stand him, or his bitch of a daughter. I just dealt with Merck Taylor..." 

****

Now they were getting somewhere. "Merck Taylor?"

~*~

"Wes, what do we really know about Eric?" Jen asked quietly after a lengthy silence.

"Not much -- not about where he's come from," Wes admitted. "But we know what counts -- and that's that he's a good guy." He studied her expression. "What else happened last night?"

"He had a nightmare."

"And I'm betting it didn't involve being chased by a ten foot energizer bunny," Wes said quietly.

"No." Jen met his gaze. "You know?"

"That he has been through some seriously bad shit in the last four years, yeah."

Jen shivered. "I want to help him."

Wes pulled her into a gentle embrace. "You and me both -- but until he's ready to be helped, there's nothing either of us can do."

He half expected Jen to stiffen in his arms as she had on the previous occasions he'd held her, but this time, she relaxed against him, instantly returning his hug. Her head rested against his shoulder.

"Jen?"

"I realised something," she replied quietly. "Even if this...you and me...does scare me, I can't let that fear rule my life." She shifted in his arms until she could meet his gaze. "I missed you." Wes leaned forward and ghosted a kiss across her lips. "I love you, and I know I will never feel this way about anyone else."

He smiled. Maybe they didn't need to talk after all.

~*~

Eric waited while Rocky sorted through his thoughts. 

"Kim and I went to High School together in Angel Grove," Rocky began. "She was a really good gymnast and she got talent spotted by Günter Schmitt...top gymnastics coach, based in Miami. He offered her a place at his training camp. She took him up on it and moved to Florida...and that's where she met Dirk."

"How?"

Rocky gave a bleak smile. "I don't know. Dirk sure as shit wasn't a gymnast, but beyond that... She's never told me and I've never asked. I can only figure that Dirk was a really, really smooth talking son of a bitch and she was star-struck by the attentions of an older man." Rocky shrugged. "He got her pregnant, promised to stand by her, married her...then..."

"What did he do?" Eric asked, already feeling angrier than he could ever remember feeling.

"Lied, cheated, brow-beat her, belittled her... And when she tried to fight back..."

"He hit her." Eric felt sick all over again, particularly as Rocky nodded, confirming it.

"When Alice was born, he got worse. Started sleeping around, making demands...and Kim was too tired to fight back." Rocky grimaced. "Until the day she caught Dirk with Alice."

Eric closed his eyes. He did not want to hear this.

"Alice was three and a half and curious. She got into something she shouldn't have done and Dirk caught her. Kim was in the kitchen doing some laundry or something when she heard Alice screaming. She doesn't remember what happened next."

There was a moment of silence, into which, the sound of a shattering plaster cast was unbelievably loud. It wasn't until a wave of pain travelled up his left arm that Eric realised he'd once again punched a wall with his left hand.

"I felt like that when Kim finally told me," Rocky admitted. "Although something tells me that wasn't such a hot idea."

"It wasn't," Eric agreed, hoping the pain from his hand would override the nausea brought about by Rocky's explanations. "What happened?"

"Somewhere along the line," Rocky continued, "the Miami PD got involved. There was a brief suggestion of Kim being charged...then the medical examiner got a look at Kim...and Alice...and Dirk was the one who got charged. That was when Kim finally got in touch with me after four years of nothing. She figured, of all the people she knew 'back home' I was going to be the least judgemental...she never used to worry about that." Rocky shook his head. "Dirk was sent down for ten years. But I guess he must have gotten out early for good behaviour or something."

Eric felt the pit of his stomach turn to lead. "What do you mean?"

Rocky sighed. "Dirk did this to Kim."

~*~

Arachna was now almost luridly pale. Alex knew full well she hadn't intended to let that name slip. He could see her trying to work out how to avoid saying any more.

"Tell me about Merck Taylor," he continued. "Who is he?"

The question hung on the air for a long, long moment.

"He's a Fixer."

Long, hard habit kept Alex's face inscrutable at that. Fixers were the people that made things happen in criminal society. Steelix had been a Fixer for Ransik until he'd been captured. So had Frax, come to that. "Whose Fixer?"

Arachna's head dropped as the weight of the question pressed down on her. 

"Whose Fixer?" he asked again, this time not leaving her the thinking time. She muttered something softly. "Speak up -- I can't hear you."

Her head snapped up suddenly, sneer back in place. "It doesn't matter if I tell you or if I don't. None of this matters."

Alex smirked. "If it doesn't matter," he replied, "then you can tell me. Whose Fixer?"

He locked stares with the female mutant, boring straight through her mis-matched eyes, letting her read that he was deadly serious about this. She looked away first.

"Biocon's. But it doesn't matter that you know that -- where he is..." Arachna smiled unpleasantly. "None of this will matter soon."

Alex returned the expression and stood up. "You might like to think that, Arachna. But me, if I were you, I wouldn't be banking on it."

With that, he headed out of the interview room. The second the door closed behind him, he sagged against the wall.

"Nicely done, sir," observed Trip, who had been monitoring the whole interview.

"I hate head games -- and right now, I don't know whether I'm mind-screwing her, or she's mind-screwing me."

__

TO BE CONTINUED...


	12. Chapter 11 - ...Or A Lifetime

Disclaimer: Eric, Rocky, Kimberly, Alice and Alex don't belong to me. They're borrowed from BVE. No harm, no foul, no money made. Dirk, Arachna and Hamilton do belong to me -- you're welcome to borrow, but please ask me first.

Muchos gracias to Gamine for the poking, prodding, beta'ing and general help with this chapter -- I couldn't have done this without you. Thank you also to Nora, Selma and Vanessa for putting up with me whining.

With apologies to folks -- I know this and the last one were supposed to be one chapter. What can I say? This is proving to be one heck of a ride...

~*~

Max Force -- ...Or A Lifetime

Eric stared at Rocky, trying to wrap his mind around what the other man had just said. "What do you mean?" he finally said.

Rocky sighed. "It was Dirk Cunningham I ran off at Kim's place."

Nausea and anger warred in Eric's mind. Anger won out. "I am going to find that son of a bitch and when I do..."

"I'll be there to hold your coat," Rocky offered. Eric's head snapped round to look at him. "I mean it. Kim is my friend. I feel like I let her down when she went to Miami and I lost contact with her -- whatever you're planning, count me in."

Eric slowly nodded. He could feel the honest intent behind Rocky's words. "You've got it." A plan started to form in Eric's mind. "And I know just how we find him, too."

~*~

Alex waited an hour. Mostly, it was to allow his final comment time to sink in with Arachna -- although he knew she wouldn't be all that perturbed by it. But partly, it was for his benefit. He needed the time to recover and re-sharpen his wits.

Finally, the hour was up. Alex settled his best poker expression on his face once more and re-entered the interview room. Arachna looked bored -- although there was a tension to her posture that surprised him. She clearly had been thinking about his words.

"What do you want?" she asked as he sat down opposite her.

"I want the brains behind the attempt on my life," Alex replied, sticking to what he had established earlier.

"And?"

She was good. Calculating. But so was he. "What makes you think there is an and?"

"I won't betray him."

"I'm sure you won't." Alex smiled, knowing it was an unpleasant sight -- and was rewarded by seeing her flinch. "But you don't have any say in the matter." From his pocket he produced a datapad, one Trip had specially prepared for him. "This is an order from the supreme court."

Arachna blanched. "What for?" she asked, probably intending to make her words sound defiant. She failed, miserably.

"Well now," Alex replied, putting the datapad down and folding his arms across his chest. "I now have the all the authority I need to make you cooperate. One way or another."

"What?!"

"Oh yes," Alex agreed affably. "I can order your lobotomy if I think it will help this investigation. Or a memory extraction, polygraphs, truth serums...hell, the old bamboo splinters beneath your finger nails trick, if necessary. One way or another, you **will** talk."

"But that's inhumane!"

"An eye for an eye, Arachna," Alex replied. "It's an old, old phrase and it's the maxim I live by. Your information all but killed me. Guess what that gives me the option of doing."

"You wouldn't...they couldn't..."

Alex pushed the datapad across the table towards her. "They could and I would."

~*~

Rocky looked mildly puzzled. "How?"

In spite of the situation, Eric managed a smile. "The Silver Guardians -- I can get the nightshift to do a search of the city."

Rocky's eyes widened. "You can do that?" Eric nodded. "But...what about your commander? I heard he was a miserable son of a bitch."

Eric found himself smiling ruefully at that description. "Oh...we're...ah...under new management now -- we work with the SPD, so the chances are we're already looking anyway."

Almost as if to prove his point, in walked Ben Johnston. "Commander Myers -- what..." but Ben stopped himself mid-sentence. "Silly question."

Eric's eyebrows climbed. "What is?" Beside him, he was aware of Rocky doing a good impersonation of a startled goldfish.

"I was going to ask why you're here -- but I know who's involved." Eric was tempted to ask what Ben meant by that, but Ben's attention had already switched to Rocky. "Mr DeSantos -- SPD have asked me to ask you for more information."

Eric sat back and listened while Ben conducted a short and to the point interview with Rocky. It was interesting listening. It confirmed to Eric that Dirk was the one who had abducted Alice. It also told him the reason why Rocky was in Silverhills and on Kimberly's doorstep -- something about a high school yearbook and someone that Kimberly had only just met but who was familiar.

_Jen -- that has to be._ For a moment, Eric's mind was transported to several hours earlier and the Beanie Baby. Then he shook that off. There would be time to wonder about that later -- now was time to worry about Kimberly, and how to find Alice and deal with Dirk.

"Want me to keep you posted, sir?" Ben finished.

Eric nodded. "Please."

Ben nodded. "You got it." He turned to leave. "We'll find him."

As Ben left, Eric was aware of Rocky quietly murmuring, "Someone, just shoot me now."

~*~

Alex watched as Arachna studied the proffered datapad. Trip had done a great job of programming the pad to look official -- in reality, there was no way the supreme court would ever allow him that kind of latitude, but desperate times called for desperate measures. The key was getting her to believe they had. And, to judge from the pallor in her face, she did now.

"So," he said presently. "Do I have to call in the memory techs to extract the information I need, or are you going to cooperate?" It was a dangerous question. He had a few tricks up his sleeve should she call his bluff but...

He held his breath and watched her. Arachna's whole body language shifted. "I want full protection. If I tell you this and you catch him, my life is forfeit."

With difficulty, Alex swallowed back the smile of jubilation, partly because this was too soon to be sure. "You're perfectly safe," he promised.

"And I want **all** charges dropped against me. Particularly that attempted murder charge."

Alex pretended to consider her request. He was more than prepared to lie about what he could and couldn't have dropped, if necessary, but... "That depends on if your information is good. If it leads to an arrest..." He left the sentence open-ended.

Arachna's eyes narrowed. "Is that the best you can do?"

Alex spread his hands in an apologetic gesture -- although he felt nothing of the sort. "It's the best I'm authorised to do."

"It will lead to an arrest," she promised.

She really was rattled. Again, Alex fought back the jubilation. "OK." He nodded. "You have my word."

~*~

Eric sighed in faint amusement. "When you reach six foot down, stop digging," he advised.

Rocky just put his head in his hands and groaned. "Kim didn't say you were the commander."

"I guessed that much. Besides, 'miserable son of a bitch' was a pretty accurate description."

"That doesn't help," Rocky replied.

"Mr DeSantos?"

Eric looked up at the new voice to see a doctor standing in front of them. Suddenly all the humour left the situation. Instinctively, Eric knew this was the news they were waiting for.

"I'm Dr Hamilton," the doctor continued, as Rocky also looked up, "Mrs Cunningham's doctor." Eric held his breath, steeling himself for bad news. "Have you been able to contact Mrs Cunningham's next of kin?"

"This is Eric Myers," Rocky said.

It took Eric several seconds to realise that Hamilton's attention had now switched solely to him.

"I have some good news," Hamilton said. "Her liver had ruptured, but fortunately the fissure was small, so no transplant was called for -- although the internal bleeding was severe. Thanks to Mr DeSantos, we got to her in time; several hours more and she certainly would have died."

Eric knew Hamilton was saying more, but the rest of the explanation bypassed him completely. _She could have died. She is going to be OK._ That thought echoed through his mind over and over again and it solidified the anger. Dirk Cunningham was going to pay. Heavily.

"She's currently resting," Hamilton finished.

"Can I see her?"

Hamilton smiled and nodded. "Of course - for a few moments. She is still very groggy from the operation." 

Eric nodded. He flicked a glance at Rocky.

"I'll see her when she's better," Rocky said, in answer to the unasked question. "You go now."

Dazedly, Eric nodded and stood up. As he did so, Hamilton frowned.

"What happened to your hand?" the doctor enquired.

Eric glanced down to look at the explosion of bruising across his hand. Smashing the cast had done little to improve things -- if anything, he had made it worse. He could see fresh cuts across his knuckles where some of the plaster shards had broken through the skin. "I...um..."

"I think, Mr Myers," Hamilton cut in, "that once you've seen Mrs Cunningham, you need to get that x-rayed." Eric opened his mouth to protest. "Doctor's orders." Eric meekly nodded. "This way."

Silently, Eric followed Hamilton up to ICU and to the room where Kimberly was now resting. He got a physical shock when he saw her, through the window of the room. The bruising on her face was not unexpected, but the obvious strapping on her right arm was.

"Separated shoulder," Hamilton explained softly.

"He's going to pay," Eric promised quietly.

~*~

"Biocon's no fool," Arachna stated. "I can't give you all the details of his plan because he didn't tell me them."

Alex nodded. That was a given. "But...?" he prompted.

"He wants to bring down Time Force."

"Why?" Alex asked.

"Have you heard of Zeleschni?"

Zeleschni was an even more notorious crime boss than Ransik had been. He had been the reason Time Force had been set up. He had also been dead nearly fifty years. "I've heard of him, but I don't see the relevance."

"And here, I thought you were the clever one," Arachna muttered. "Zeleschni's real name was Peter Scotts."

The pieces started dropping into place in Alex's mind. "Zeleschni being Biocon's father?"

"Give the Time Force officer a bribe," Arachna retorted. Alex glared at her and she flinched. "Jack was six when his father was killed. Do you know what it does to a family when something like that happens? Do you have any idea how many families Time Force has done that to? How many zealots you've created?"

Alex refused to be baited. A slanging match was something there could only ever be one winner for -- and it wouldn't be him. "So Jack vowed revenge?"

"Yes."

~*~

"Goddamn it!"

Alice shivered. That had been all the nasty man...her daddy...had said since they'd come to this horrible place. She desperately wanted her mommy -- but the last time she'd said anything about that, he'd yelled something rude at her and her arm still ached from where he'd hit her for it. Worse, her wrist hurt from where the piece of rope that he'd used to tie her to the chair was rubbing every time she moved.

"You **stay** there and be quiet!" he yelled at her.

She cowered away from him. But he didn't come any closer to her. Instead, he headed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Tears started to fall. Why was he doing this? What was he going to do to her? She'd seen what he'd done to her mommy and that scared her even more. If he could do that to her mommy... But just when a real crying fit beckoned, she remembered something her mommy always told her: Crying about a mess never made it better.

Mommy would be all right. Mommy was always all right.

And it was up to her to get herself out of this mess.

Something else that her mommy had said to her came back: If she ever got into a mess, she was to call home.

Her face fell and more tears threatened. Home was her mommy.

But... Alice managed a watery smile. Home also meant Eric. Her mommy had drilled his phone number into her as well as she'd drilled their own.

"677 555 8162," she murmured to herself.

Looking round the room, she spotted the telephone. It was only just beyond her reach. Sliding off the chair, though, she found, much to her annoyance, that she was tied to the wrong side of the chair. What would her mommy do now?

With a determined expression on her face, Alice started in the direction of the phone. Pulling with all her strength, the heavy wooden chair came too. It made a terrible noise, screeching against the floor as she dragged. She stopped and listened. No-one was coming. She took another few steps. Screech. Pause. Two more. Screech. Pause. One more. Screech. Pause and try reaching for the phone. Still **just** beyond her reach.

Her shoulders ached from the effort -- the chair was considerably bigger than she was and it weighed a lot. _I can't do it,_ she thought in dismay. _But if I don't do it then I'm letting mommy down,_ she reminded herself. _Just one more,_ she promised herself, took one last step towards the phone and gave the chair a mighty heave. There was another, almighty screech as the chair slid against the floor, but finally, she was in reach of the phone.

Grabbing at it, she dialled the number carefully. It rang.

And rang.

And rang.

And just when she thought it wasn't going to be answered, "Yes?"

Eric sounded cross. Alice cringed. "Sorry, but mommy said I could call you if I got into trouble."

There was a long silence -- so long that Alice thought he might have disconnected the call. "Alice?"

"Uh-huh." She nodded, forgetting that he couldn't see her do it.

"Alice, where are you? Are you OK?"

"I don't know...and I'm scared."

She heard Eric say a word she wasn't supposed to know. "Is Dirk with you?"

"Do you mean my daddy?"

She heard Eric say that word again. "Yes."

"No -- he just went out."

There was a pause. "OK. I'm going to come and get you, Alice, but I need to know where you are."

"But..."

"I know you don't know," Eric continued gently. "Is there a window?"

"Uh-huh."

"What can you see out of it?" Alice strained to get across to the window to peer out, but there was no way she could move the chair to get close enough to see properly. "What's opposite you?"

"It's dark -- I can't see much, " Alice answered. "But there's a big light just across the street. It's pink and green."

"Pink and green," Eric echoed. "Does it say anything?"

Alice frowned and squinted. "I don't know...I can't see. I'm sorry."

"It's OK, Alice -- you're doing good. Can you see anything else?"

Alice strained again. "No...sorry."

"It's OK," Eric replied. "You're doing great. Now. Listen for a minute -- can you hear anything, like lots of traffic maybe?"

Alice closed her eyes and concentrated. What could she hear? Cars and trucks going passed and something else -- the sound of a bell. "I hear a train bell!" she exclaimed.

"A train bell? Do you mean like a whistle?"

Alice rolled her eyes. "No, silly -- a bell. It's going ding-ding-ding-ding."

"You mean for a crossing?"

"Yes."

"OK."

  
"Do you know where I am?" Alice asked, hopefully.

"Yes I do -- you've been very good. I'm going to come and get you now. I promise."

Just then, Alice heard footsteps approaching the door. "He's back!" she hissed and put the phone down.

Panic set in -- there was no way she could hide what she'd just done, and no way she could get the chair back to where it had been. What would her mommy do? 

The door opened.

"What are you doing, you little bitch?" he hissed.

"I gotta go potty," she announced.

~*~

Eric stared, frozenly, at the suddenly lifeless cell phone in his hand.

"What did she say?" Rocky asked. He had met up with Eric when he had returned from ICU and gone with him as he went through into the emergency room to get his hand re-x-rayed and re-plastered -- which had been just as well as things had turned out. The nurse was plastering Eric's hand when the cell phone had started to ring -- it had taken Rocky to unclip it from the left-hand side of Eric's belt.

Eric cursed creatively. "He's got her in a fleapit about a mile from here. I'm gonna kill him."

The words were so cold and calm that Rocky couldn't help but shudder. "She told you that?" he asked.

"No -- but she could hear a crossing alarm. There's only one rail crossing in the whole of Silverhills -- and that's about a mile from here, not far from the docks." Eric offered a particularly choice expletive that, to Rocky, sounded anatomically impossible. "I'm gonna kill him."

It wasn't a threat, Rocky realised, it was a promise.

The nurse returned to check on the plaster. "OK -- you're free to go," she announced. "But keep that arm up, and no more hitting walls."

"Yes ma'am."

In anyone else, Rocky decided, that response would be taken as sarcasm. The nurse merely smiled at Eric and let him leave.

"C'mon," Eric stated, heading out of the emergency room. "We've got a sleaze bucket to get."

~*~

Alex mulled over what Arachna had said so far. Revenge. It was an ugly word -- and an ugly act. But it was only part of the answer.

"Why Shendraville?" he asked.

Arachna blinked. "What?"

"Why Shendraville?" Alex repeated. "Why did Biocon massacre that city?"

She laughed. "They were a means to an end."

Alex felt revolted by the concept, but he reined that in. "What end?"

"He needed a subject for the Alpha Project -- the project that's going to be the downfall of Time Force."

"What's the Alpha Project?"

Arachna offered a shrug. "He never told me. I just know that he's got a plant within Time Force -- someone he can activate and control."

"So where is he?" Alex asked, dropping the Alpha Project reference for now -- that could be pursued later. It was time to get down to brass tacks.

"In the past."

"Where?"

"I don't know specifically."

"Where, Arachna? You promised an arrest -- and the past is a big place to hide."

She scowled at him. "No Cal. The Gold Rush City."

~*~

Eric slowly drove along First Avenue.

People thought that the Southside of Silverhills, where he lived, was a dump -- but **no-one** came to this part of town without a very good reason. Southside was poor but proud. This part of town was sleazy. In the days when Silverhills had been a major port, this had been where the sailors hung out on shore leave, and when they left, so did any class the area had.

Which, Eric reflected, probably hadn't been much to start with.

"Pink and green neon sign dead ahead," Rocky commented. "Where's the crossing in relation to here?"

"Hundred yards or so to the left at the next set of traffic lights," Eric answered, squinting at the neon sign.

It was for a strip club -- it promised 'Live Nude Girls!' in three-foot high lettering. _Probably just as well Alice couldn't see that._ Eric parked the SUV just opposite the sign, outside the doorway of a very seedy hostel.

"Wanna bet that's the place?" Eric asked.

"No deal," Rocky replied. "But how're we going to find the right room?"

Eric offered a feral smile. "You'll see."

Locking the car behind them, Eric led Rocky into the entrance of the fleapit. Normally Eric would be worried about leaving the SUV in this area, but not tonight. He had a feeling that the unseen observers who'd seen him pull up would deter would be thieves -- both he and Rocky were broadcasting 'men not to be messed with', loudly.

"Yeah?" said the man on the desk.

"I'm looking for someone," Eric replied, pouring threat into his voice and looming over the counter. "Guy with a little girl. Girl's got long blond hair."

  
"Guy about six foot?" the man asked. Rocky nodded. "Kid crying?"

Rocky gave a growl at that. Eric just silently vowed that Dirk was going to pay. "That's her," he agreed.

"Room 401," the man replied. "Fourth landing, first door on the left."

"We'll pay you for any damage," Eric promised as he headed up the stairs.

Rocky gave a soft whistle. "I'm impressed."

They reached the fourth landing. Eric motioned Rocky to stop and they listened at the door of room 401.

"Ow! You're **hurting** me!" Alice's scream was enough confirmation for Eric.

He sized up the door -- one good kick would bust the lock off good and proper. He held up three fingers to Rocky, slipping back into military terminology. Rocky nodded. Eric backed up, ready.

One.

Two.

Three.

Eric kicked out at the door, connecting exactly on the lock. In a shower of splinters, the door burst open.

TO BE CONTINUED...


	13. Chapter 12 - Trouble

Disclaimer: I own Dirk and a couple of minor characters (who you may borrow after first asking me). The rest belong to BVE and are used without permission -- no harm, no foul, no money made.

With thanks to Gamine for patiently picking out the nits. Also to Vanessa for putting up with me whining and to Selma for the cattle prodding.

Please offer feedback -- it tells me how I'm doing, glad you guys are enjoying it; we're into the home stretch.

~*~

Max Force -- Trouble

As the door imploded, Eric barrelled through it, aware that Alice was now screaming while Dirk was cursing vividly. He took a fraction of a second to assess where people were in the room before lunging for Dirk. Before the other man could so much as blink, Eric had him pinned up against the wall.

It didn't matter that Dirk had a height and reach advantage, nor did it matter that Eric was handicapped by having his left hand encased in plaster. He was angry and there was no way that Dirk was going anywhere.

"E--Eric?" Alice sounded scared and tearful.

He wished he could go to her, but he couldn't release Dirk. "I'm here, honey. Just like I promised."

"Who the hell are you?" Dirk hissed. "And how'd you get here?"

In a low voice, too low for Alice to hear, Eric answered, "Just call me vengeance."

"Can we get out of here?" Alice asked. "I don't like it here."

Eric risked a glance over his shoulder at her. "Mommy's friend Rocky's going to take you down to my car," he said.

"What about you?"

"I'll be right along," he promised. "Once I've had a chat with your daddy."

"But..."

"Hey there, Alice," Rocky cut in. "What say you and I go and wait for Eric outside?"

"Is it OK?" Alice asked. "Mommy said not to go with people I didn't know."

Eric offered Alice his best smile. "Mommy won't mind you going with Rocky. I promise."

"OK."

Eric turned back to Dirk, although he kept some of his attention focused on Rocky and Alice, so that he'd know when they had left the room.

"What do you want?" Dirk was asking over and over again in a panicked tone of voice.

"You'll see," Eric hissed. Dirk struggled against him. Eric pinned him in place with a carefully positioned knee. "Do that again and you **know** what's going to happen." Dirk was still.

"Car keys?" Rocky asked.

"Right jacket pocket," Eric directed.

He felt Rocky remove the SUV's keys. "See you later," Rocky promised.

"You got it."

Eric waited until he was sure that Rocky and Alice had left the room, then he rammed his knee straight into Dirk's groin and let go. The other man went down in a wheezing, crying heap.

"You know what I'd like to do to you, you son of a bitch?" Eric hissed, letting loose his anger. "I'd like to do to you what you did to Kim." He kicked out at the limp mass of humanity at his feet, connecting hard. "Except..." Another kick. "I'm better at it." He bent down and hauled Dirk back to his feet. "I could kill you right now and you wouldn't know it had happened." He slammed the other man into the wall. "But that would be a waste of my time and effort." He buried his plaster-encased fist in Dirk's stomach and then stepped back allowing the other man to double over, gasping and wheezing once more. "You're pathetic."

With difficulty, Eric reined back his temper. He unclipped his cell phone and dialled Ben Johnson.

"We've got nothing for you, yet, sir," Ben offered before Eric could say anything.

Eric gave a humourless chuckle. "No -- but I have something for you." He gave another kick to Dirk's prone form. "Fleapit hostel on First Avenue, just opposite," Eric paused and looked out of the window, "Lucky Sam's."

"You found him," Ben stated. "Is he breathing still?"

Eric chuckled again. "Yeah."

"You got more restraint than I do, man," Ben replied. "If that was my girlfriend..." Eric opened his mouth to correct Ben's assumption about Kimberly, but Ben was already continuing, "Is Alice OK?"

"Bit scared, probably a bit bruised. She's waiting with Rocky DeSantos outside."

"Good, I gotcha. Carey, Zalinski and two of SPD's guys will be with you in five."

"Thanks Ben -- room 401."

"401 -- got it."

Disconnecting the call, Eric turned back to Dirk and offered another kick. Dirk whimpered. Eric picked up a piece of rope left on the seat of the chair that Alice had been sitting on. He found his blood boiling again as he realised that Dirk had used the rope to tie Alice.

Roughly, Eric dragged Dirk's arms behind his back and bound them together at the wrists, pulling on the rope until he heard Dirk moan -- then pulling a little harder again. "It's better than you deserve," Eric hissed, straightening again. "You tied her to a chair..."

"Whassit to you?" Dirk lisped. "S'e my 'ckin' b'rt."

In an explosion of anger, Eric grabbed Dirk by the shoulders, hauling him back to his feet and pinning him to the wall once more. "You lost the right to call her your daughter when you attacked her. You are not fit to speak her name."

"Stand down, Myers."

Eric reacted automatically to the command, stepping back and releasing his hold of Dirk. Only as Dirk slid down the wall did Eric consciously realise that he wasn't in the Marines any more and the person doing the ordering wasn't his CO but a 'lowly' cop with the SPD. That was when he realised he'd come perilously close to actually killing Dirk.

"Good job," observed the other cop. "I take it he resisted capture?"

Eric looked down at Dirk, seeing the bruising visible on the other man's face, around his eyes, and the obviously fractured nose for the first time. "Actually, that wasn't me."

"Good for Kim!" Zalinski observed. "How is she, sir?" he added.

"She's gonna be OK." The relief he hadn't allowed himself to feel suddenly flooded through him. For a second, he felt dizzy.

"Maybe you should get back to the hospital, sir," suggested Carey. "We'll take care of Dork."

Eric nodded. "You know where I am..."

Zalinski chuckled. "We know where you are."

The two cops both looked amused too. "We'll need you to make a statement," said the one who'd ordered him to stand down, "but that can keep until morning. Dork here ain't going nowhere."

~*~

The first thing that Kimberly became aware of as she woke up was the feel of someone holding her hand. Next to that, feeling achy and sore were not as much of a surprise -- she remembered finding Dirk standing in her doorway, looming over Alice and she vaguely remembered what had followed, although the memories of that were blurred and confused. The muffled sounds around her told her she was now in hospital -- which meant Dirk had knocked her around good. Was Alice OK? And just who was it holding onto her hand?

She forced her eyes to open. The first thing that her eyes fell on was the sleeping, golden-haired form of her daughter. _Thank God!_ But if Alice was curled up on the bed beside her...

With a struggle, Kimberly forced herself to look beyond Alice and found herself squinting at Eric.

"How're you feeling?" he asked quietly.

"Like I was hit by a train," she replied wryly. "How come you're here?"

Eric offered her a smile. "Your friend, Rocky -- he found you and called me."

Kimberly suddenly felt her heart lurch. "Did he...?"

Eric gave a soft nod. "Rocky explained."

"What are you doing still here?" Kimberly asked. "I figured you'd be out the door, never looking back."

"Why would I..." Eric trailed off and shook his head. "I'm not going to judge you."

"Why?"

Eric gave a careful shrug. "Because it's not my place to. We all have things in our pasts that we wish hadn't happened." Kimberly noticed a strange, almost wistful, expression on his face as he said the words. She wondered just what that meant. "Though I will say I think you're a very brave woman."

"Brave?! What bullshit has Rocky told you? I was married to the guy for four years."

"**Was** married," Eric pointed out. "Lots of women with a violent partner stay where they are, out of fear and resignation. You didn't. And that takes guts, in my book."

"If Miami PD hadn't stepped in, who says I would have left him?"

Eric offered her a smile. "Kim, I've know plenty of women who were in your position who still went back to their version of Dirk and refused to press charges."

"I couldn't do that -- he hurt Alice."

Eric nodded. "That's why I know you'd have left him, with or without Miami PD's help."

Kimberly sighed. "You're the first guy who's ever reacted like that...apart from Rocky...and Rocky's..."

"Rocky?" Eric suggested, a little more humour in his expression.

Kimberly smiled faintly. "Something like that."

Silence descended.

"So what happened?" Kimberly asked quietly.

"What do you remember?" Eric replied.

"Dirk showing up...I guess he knocked me about... Did he hurt Alice?"

Eric gave a sigh. "He did more than knock you about -- he nearly killed you." Kimberly listened with mounting horror as Eric listed off her various injuries. "You're going to be OK, though. The docs fixed everything."

"What about Alice?"

Eric's expression turned grim. "I guess you don't remember telling Rocky, huh?" Kimberly silently shook her head. "Dirk abducted her."

Kimberly froze, pinning Eric with a look. "Did he hurt her?"

"A little," Eric admitted softly. "I hurt him worse."

"You found her?"

Eric nodded. "With a little help from Alice." Kimberly listened as Eric described Alice's phone call. "She's a brave kid," he observed. "We wouldn't have found her if she hadn't had the courage to call me." Eric smiled. "Or if you hadn't taught her my cell number."

"You didn't mind?"

"No." His smile turned wistful again. "No-one's ever trusted me like that before."

Kimberly got the feeling that her simple faith in him as someone her daughter could turn to if she got into trouble meant a great deal more to him than he was letting on.

"Mommy!" Alice's excited exclamation interrupted the conversation. She sat up and threw her arms around Kimberly's neck. "You're OK!" Then to Kimberly's surprise -- and amusement, Alice rounded on Eric. "You promised you'd wake me up when Mommy woke up."

If Alice's comments surprised her, though, Eric's reaction did more so. He instantly looked contrite. "I did, didn't I," he said. "I'm sorry. Will you forgive me?"

Alice tipped her head on one side. "OK. But don't do it again."

Eric offered her a smile. "I'll do my best."

Sparing Kimberly from having to make any kind of response to the startling back and forth, Eric yawned widely -- then blushed. "What time is it?" she asked, instead.

Eric glanced at his watch. "Just after nine am."

Kimberly stared at Eric, seeing for the first time the visible signs of tiredness. "Have you been here all night?" Eric didn't reply -- largely because he was too busy yawning again. "I guess that answers my question, huh?"

Eric looked faintly sheepish. "Guess it does. I just didn't feel right going home until I knew you were OK, and Alice didn't want to leave."

Kimberly smiled. "Go home, get some sleep," she suggested. "I'm going to be OK."

"What about Alice?" Eric asked.

"Is Rocky still here?" Kimberly replied.

Eric nodded. "I think so."

Almost as if on cue, there was a knock on the door and Rocky's head appeared. "Is Kim..." He trailed off and then offered Kimberly a smile. "Hey there -- how're you feeling, Kim?"

Kimberly returned the smile. "Better." And that was true -- she definitely felt better than she had when she first woke up. _Talking to Eric?_

Rocky's smile widened. "'Sha's here now, too -- she's just gone to get a coffee. Are you up for visitors?"

Kimberly smiled again. "You and 'Sha are definitely welcome -- if you guys can do me two small favours."

"For you, Kim, we'd do large favours too," Rocky chuckled. "What's up?"

"Well..." Kimberly sighed. "I haven't seen a doctor yet, but I'm guessing I'm going to be in here for a few days -- do you think you could look after Alice for me?" As she said it, she was aware of Eric's expression falling. "You're supposed to be in Del Oro Bay doing 'ranger' business," she pointed out softly, "otherwise I would ask you."

"Of course," Rocky replied. "We'd love to."

"Is that all right with you, Alice?" Kimberly asked.

"Can't I stay with Eric?"

"No," Kimberly answered.

"Remember, I'm not actually at home right now," Eric put in. Alice's face fell. "But I promise I'll call you every night before you go to bed. OK?"

"And your Auntie Aisha wants to have you to stay," said Rocky from the doorway, "so that you guys can do girl-things."

"Like fix my hair real pretty and stuff?" Alice suggested, beginning to sound mollified. Rocky nodded. "OK," Alice finally assented. "But you have to call me," she added, poking Eric in the chest. "You've promised now."

Eric smiled. "I will."

"What's the other favour?" Rocky asked.

Kimberly smiled. "Make sure he gets home safely." She nodded in Eric's direction. Eric, for his part, looked faintly relieved.

"That," said Rocky, "is no problem either."

Ten minutes later and both Rocky and Eric had gone.

"I wish Eric was my daddy," Alice offered.

Kimberly sighed. "So do I, honey," she admitted quietly. "So do I."

~*~

Jen woke slowly. She felt somehow different this morning. She felt as though a weight had been lifted from her mind...which was absurd. All she and Wes had done was...

Jen smiled. It might have 'only' been a 'little' act but in the grand scheme of things it might have been the most important thing they'd done together. Lying there, cradled in Wes' arms, Jen knew there was no way she was going back to the year 3000. This really was **home**. She didn't know how it would be done, or how the Destiny Force could be overridden, but she'd do it.

"Those must be pretty deep thoughts," Wes observed. Jen looked up to see Wes smiling at her. "You're not regretting last night are you?"

Jen returned his smile. "Only that it took us so long to get there."

Wes' smile turned to a grin. "I can live with that regret."

"You know...I don't want to move from here...but..."

"We probably should get up," Wes finished. "But..." He leaned in and kissed her, firmly. "If we get up..." Kiss. "We won't..." Kiss. "Be able to..." Kiss. "Do this." Kiss. Almost as if cued, the phone started to ring. Wes growled. "Whoever it is, their timing stinks."

"We could always ignore it," Jen suggested, finally having the opportunity to return his kisses with one of her own.

"And how many people know we're here?"

"Could be a wrong number."

"Or it could be Eric."

"Good point." Jen sighed and rolled out of Wes' embrace to pick up the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey Jen." It was Eric. "I know it's early...and it's Sunday but I figured you'd like to know Kim's OK, and I figured I'd call you before I go to bed."

"Go to bed?" Jen echoed. "What happened?"

"Who is it?" Wes asked.

Jen covered the receiver. "Eric."

"Oh."

"OK -- that was too much information," Eric complained.

"What was?" Jen asked, puzzled.

"And I thought it was bad, walking in on you guys in person. This is worse." Jen started to giggle -- she hadn't thought it was possible to **sound** 'deer-in-the-headlightsy', but Eric was rapidly proving her wrong. "Sure -- laugh at the guy who's just interrupted God knows what and who hasn't had any sleep yet."

"I'm sorry." Jen stopped laughing. "How come you haven't had any sleep?"

Eric sighed. "Long story -- I'll fill you guys in when I get back...which will be this afternoon, some time."

"But Kim is OK?"

"Yeah." The relief in Eric's voice was marked. "I'll see you guys later, OK?"

"OK, Eric...wait -- what about Alice?"

There was an audible smile in Eric's voice as he replied, "She's fine, too. Like I say -- I'll fill you in when I get there...right now I need five hours' sleep in the worst way."

Jen nodded, although she knew he couldn't see the gesture. "OK. We'll see you later."

The call disconnected and Jen put the receiver down.

"What was all that about?" Wes asked. Jen repeated what Eric had said. "Guess we're going to have to be a little more careful around him, huh?"

"Uh-huh." Jen nodded. "I'm glad Kim and Alice are OK, though."

Wes smiled and nodded. "Definitely. Who knows, maybe now he'll admit his feelings."

"Who knows," Jen agreed. "I hope so."

~*~

Alex paced his office.

It was nervous, wasted motion but there was nothing he could do about it. He was anxious and pacing was the only way he could release the tension. Katie, Trip, Lucas and Marissa were verifying the contents of Arachna's statement, which left him waiting.

Would it pan out?

What worried him most was the lack of detail. Either Arachna was lying -- which was possible, although Alex had got no sense of that during the interview -- or Biocon had played his cards very close to his chest...which was depressingly likely.

"Alex?"

Alex froze in mid-step at Trip's voice. "Yes Trip?"

The Xybrian offered a smile. "We've got something."

"About...?"

"The Alpha Project."

__

TO BE CONTINUED...


	14. Chapter 13 - Alpha Problems

Disclaimer: Trip, Lucas, Alex, Jen, Wes, Eric, Rocky (who wasn't supposed to feature in this story but who keeps popping up anyway), Kimberly and Alice don't belong to me. They belong to BE and they're borrowed without permission, but no harm, no foul, no money made. Zeleschni, Merle Askot, Biocon/Jack Scotts, Marissa Detourny, the Alpha Project and all Time Force procedures belong to me. You're welcome to borrow, but please ask me first.

With grateful thanks to Selma for the help fixing my locations and geography; to Vanessa for the cattle prodding; to John and Steve likewise; to Chris just because I can; last (and definitely not least) to Gamine for beta'ing, plot suggestions, cattle prodding and generally being an absolutely wonderful person. Thank you folks -- couldn't have got here without you.

Please offer feedback, it tells me how I'm doing.

~*~

Max Force -- Alpha Problems

Five minutes after Trip's announcement, Trip, Lucas, Marissa and Katie had assembled in Alex's office.

"OK. What do we have?" Alex asked, as the privacy lock was confirmed.

Looks were exchanged between Marissa, Trip and Lucas before Trip said, "The Alpha Project was a Time Force project."

Alex blinked. "What?"

Lucas nodded and handed over a datapad. "It was something that the early days of TF Tech dreamed up as a way of controlling dangerous prisoners."

Alex studied the datapad for a moment, then looked up. "It says here that the Alpha Project was abandoned after it killed its first five test subjects."

"One of them," said Marissa, "was Zeleschni."

Alex felt the bottom of his stomach drop out. "Please tell me you're kidding."

Lucas shook his head. "All five test subjects were captured and condemned prisoners and Zeleschni was one of them."

Alex put his head in his hands and groaned. "OK. Theories as to how Biocon got his hands on any of the Alpha Project?"

"The data on the project was all stolen in," Trip glanced down at the datapad he was holding, "2958, shortly after the project was cancelled. No-one was ever caught over the theft, but," Trip looked up again, "every indication -- from looking at the records -- is that the data was stolen by Michael Kent."

"Kent being...?"

"Kent being the project scapegoat," said Marissa.

"If it was this easy to pick up now," Alex wondered, "why wasn't Kent arrested at the time?"

"Because there's no actual proof," Trip replied. "And they **did** pull Kent in for questioning -- but he had a watertight alibi for the night of the robbery: He was in TF Medical being patched up after a brawl."

"But it could have still been Kent who did the robbery," Alex objected.

Trip shook his head. "It was a physical B and E job. **Everything** was taken -- data, files, disks, backup tapes; everything."

"And," Lucas continued, "Kent was killed in 2965 -- definitely killed," he added, before Alex could point out the obvious. "His body was sliced and diced -- and I don't mean autopsied."

"What do you mean, then?" Alex asked.

"I mean he died in an industrial accident," Lucas explained. "And you don't want to know any more detail than that."

Alex winced. "OK. So Kent's out. Theories?"

"Well," said Marissa, "we cross-checked all the project members with the list of known associates of Jack Scotts..."

"And came up with nada," put in Lucas.

"But," Trip added, "Katie had a brainwave."

Alex turned to look at the until-now-silent Katie. "You did?"

Katie gave a faint smile. "Not so much a brainwave as I recognised one of the names on the list of project members. Does the name Merle Askot mean anything to you?"

Alex swore.

"Sir?" Marissa sounded bemused. "Do you know her?"

"Not exactly, no." He looked at Katie. "You didn't tell them?" Katie shrugged. "Right." Alex sighed. "It's a long story, I'll fill you in later. I take it," he continued, "that Merle proved to be the right thread to pull?"

Trip nodded. "It took a little digging, but... She was the supervisor of the Alpha Project -- her career as a scientist was ruined by the enquiry into it when Time Force scrubbed it, even though all the blame was pinned to Kent."

"It's a guess," said Lucas, "but we think she stole the data, attempting to frame Kent for it and only succeeding in covering her tracks, and continued her research in Forgotten District."

"Preying on those the law forgot," Alex mused.

Marissa nodded. "Short of asking some of the older inhabitants of Forgotten District if they remember any of this, we're never going to know for sure, but... It seems logical."

Alex nodded. "So where does she meet Jack Scotts?"

"Well we **know**, according to Jack Scotts' TF records, he was picked up for some petty crime as a teenager and the address listed on that rap sheet is on the edge of Forgotten District." Lucas paused. "And based on Arachna's statements, he bore TF a serious grudge."

Alex looked thoughtful. "Are you suggesting he went looking for Merle Askot?"

"Again -- it would seem to be the logical assumption to make," said Marissa. "And, we've finally found the evidence of the blackmail plot revolving around Shendraville. The victim was the head of TF Tech and the account they paid into..."

"Belongs to Merle Askot?" Alex suggested.

"Under the false identities and trail of dummy businesses, yeah," Trip agreed.

~*~

Eric lay on his bed, completely unable to sleep.

He was tired to the point of total exhaustion but sleep refused to come. Something about the last twelve hours was bothering him. It wasn't the way he'd treated Dirk -- men like that were scum and Eric had no problems dealing with them as such. It wasn't even the way Alice had looked at him in the SUV on the way back to the hospital -- although the look of adoration had been a little disconcerting to say the least.

No, it was the strange sense of disappointment he'd felt when Kimberly had asked Rocky and his wife to look after Alice.

Kimberly was right. What he was doing -- what he, Wes and Jen were doing -- in Del Oro Bay was not something Alice should be mixed up in. So why was he disappointed?

The answer came in an unwilling rush: Because for a second it felt as though Kimberly didn't trust him.

And why did that matter to him?

__

Myers, quit it.

But despite that, his mind kept returning to the question. No matter how hard he tried, the question just wouldn't leave him alone. It was a little like having a loose tooth. Even though you **knew** it was going to hurt when you poked it with your tongue, you still did it. And the answer to the question had the potential to hurt a lot.

Why did it matter whether Kimberly trusted him or not?

__

Myers, you're a fool.

She was just a neighbour.

Why did it matter?

She was a friend.

Why did it matter?

"Oh hell."

The answer hit him like a ton of bricks -- and just as painfully.

"I love her."

The realisation brought with it a brief fantasy. For a moment, he pictured himself, with Kimberly and Alice -- a family...a proper one...something he'd never had before. Then the grinning, Arabic features of the KLA commander blotted out the scene and Eric found himself waking with a start.

For a second he wondered if everything had been a dream -- even down to the realisation. But no, the feeling was real -- he truly did love Kimberly.

__

Now what?

The answer was unpalatable.

He had a pretty good idea of how she felt about him, and if Kimberly ever found out his feelings... She'd get close enough that his past was bound to come to light...and then she'd run as far and as fast as she could in the other direction.

So there was only one answer.

__

I have to leave.

Of course, he'd tried that one before. And it had been Kimberly who had talked him out of it. This time, he suspected Jen and Wes would join in as well. But he couldn't stay. Staying was dangerous. Staying would hurt. But leaving would be hard. It would take a lot of very careful planning. Taking off in the middle of the night had an appeal, but he owed it to Wes and Jen to see this current mission through and he owed it to Kimberly to be around, at least for a little while, after she got out of hospital. Then there was finances to think about, employment, where to go...

__

Leaving's not an option, he realised. _Not right now at any rate._

Eric put his hand over his eyes and groaned.

__

C'mon Myers -- you've had twenty-eight years' practice at hiding how you feel. Is it really going to be that tough to do it again at least until you can get your ass outta here?

He rubbed his face, feeling the day old stubble. It was a plan. It wasn't a very good one but it was the best his tired mind could come up with. 

~*~

Wes puttered around the kitchen, making breakfast, while Jen was showering. He had suggested that they shower together, but Jen had pointed out that -- tempting as the idea was -- they did need to get moving.

"We need to figure out where to look next," she pointed out.

She had a point, Wes realised, setting up the coffee machine, but...

"Jen?"

Wes jumped about a foot in the air at the voice, dropping coffee grounds all over the floor. Looking round, he saw that the holoscreen he had paid scant attention to when he'd first walked into the room had flared into life.

"Alex?" Wes enquired, moving into view of the screen.

Alex blinked. "Wes."

"Guess you weren't expecting me any more than I was expecting you," said Wes ruefully.

"Sorry," Alex apologised. "Is Jen there?"

"In the shower," Wes replied.

"No she's not," said Jen entering the kitchen, fully dressed, but still towelling her hair dry. "Alex, what's up?"

Wes noted that Alex still looked slightly stunned -- something that Wes suspected was not entirely down to his presence. "I have a location for you for Biocon -- at least, I think it's a location, but we can't pin it down. Perhaps Wes or Eric can."

"Eric's not here right now," Jen said.

"Wes, then: No Cal, The Gold Rush City."

Wes nodded. "I can. San Francisco."

"Are you sure?" Jen asked.

Wes nodded again. "Positive. 'Fact," he added, "I seem to remember getting taken to a museum or some such of that exact name when I was a little kid. And Biocon being in or near San Francisco ties in with what I found down in San Diego yesterday."

"Oh?" Alex asked. "You found something?" Briefly, Wes outlined what he'd uncovered in Gull Street. "Certainly sounds like it ties together."

"Do we have a more specific location?" Jen asked.

Alex shook his head. "No -- that's the best we've been able to come up with."

"There's a lot of intelligence hits for the Frisco area," Wes commented.

"Plot them on a map, chances are where the highest concentration is, that's where Biocon is," Alex observed.

"Think you can do that?" Jen asked.

Wes grinned. "No problem."

Alex nodded. "If you can pinpoint it, move in on it ASAP."

"Sir?" Jen queried. "Has he made a threat?"

"No," Alex answered quietly, "but we have uncovered what we think is his plot -- and the longer he's loose the bigger the risk of it coming to fruition."

"Sir." 

Before Wes could say anything, the holoscreen image winked out.

"Wes," Jen began, "why is there coffee all over the floor?"

~*~

"You're keeping her on the case?" said Katie, surprised, as Alex cut the holoscreen connection.

Alex gave a rueful shrug. "What can I do? It's going to take a lot of time and very overt effort to pull her from the case -- time and effort I should be spending trying to wrap up this end of things. Plus," he added, "there's Wes and Eric."

Katie sighed. "Good point."

"Then there's the fact that, right now, any case against her is circumstantial."

"Unless Trip can track down Merle Askot."

Alex nodded. "Yeah."

~*~

"How do we know this woman isn't long dead?" Lucas wondered.

"There's no death record at all," Trip reminded him.

"That probably **does** make her dead in this case," Lucas retorted.

Trip grinned faintly. "Probably -- but Circuit found a housing record for her, still in her name, so..."

"So here we are," Lucas finished, gesturing at the dilapidated building he had stopped the squad car outside. "Let's get this over with."

He climbed out of the squad car and walked up to the front door of what had once been a sumptuous house, but now just looked like a neglected hovel, aware of Trip following him. He lifted his hand to knock, but to his surprise, the door opened before he could.

"Aah. Time Force. I wondered when you'd get here."

~*~

Jen stared at the map as Wes marked up the final piece of intelligence.

"I didn't think this was going to produce anything," Jen murmured.

Wes pointed to a near circle of 'hits' between San Francisco Bay and San Rafael. "That's gotta be it."

"But what is it?" Jen wondered.

Wes peered at the map. "It's marked as an abandoned mine."

Jen grimaced. "Which would be the perfect hide out -- lots of places to rig booby traps... If that is where he is, getting him is going to be bordering on the impossible."

"That assumes he's set anything up," Wes replied.

Jen gave him a quizzical looked. "What do you mean?"

"Think about it," Wes argued. "Alex has kept this mission very quiet -- right? To the point where you've actually got to complete **two** missions."

"Right."

"So how's he going to know there's anyone after him to booby trap his hide out?"

Jen frowned. "True -- but we're talking about Biocon, who has to be one of the most dangerous criminals of my century **and** we're talking a very smart Time Force officer in Merck Taylor. I can't believe they wouldn't have set up some form of security."

Wes sighed. "I guess."

"What we need is some reconnaissance," Jen said. "If this place is huge there is no way that the two of us can do the job -- we'll have to call Alex for back up."

"Two of us?" Wes queried.

Jen made a face. "Eric broke his hand yesterday."

Wes stared. "How?"

Jen shook her head. "Long story."

Wes rolled his eyes. "I see."

"Ask him -- I said it was up to him what he told you."

Wes shook his head. "I can guess." He gave a sigh. "Well, the reconnaissance isn't a problem," he continued.

"It isn't?"

"This place is only an hour from here," Wes explained.

"As close as that?" Jen looked thoughtful. "OK. Let's get going."

~*~

Alex studied Merle Askot through the window of the interview room. For a woman well into her nineties, she was still very spry and sprightly. _Genetic engineering,_ Alex mused. He was aware that Lucas and Trip had attempted to conduct one interview already, but she knew her stuff. She had refused to say a word until the 'head honcho' arrived.

"Which would be me," Alex muttered. "Let's get this show on the road."

Pulling on his best poker face, he entered the interview room.

"You must be Alex," Merle stated, looking up. "I've heard a lot about you."

"And I you," Alex retorted, sitting down in front of her. "Although, I must confess, you look remarkably well for someone who died in Shendraville."

Merle offered him a smile. "So, you know."

Alex folded his arms across his chest. "I know fragments. I know that Jack Scotts is Biocon. I know that you and he were in league over Shendraville. I know that you made a lot of money as a result of Shendraville. I know that the Shendraville 'survivor' isn't from this century, never mind from Shendraville. I know that, in all probability, the Shendraville 'survivor' is Scotts' ace in the hole."

"Bravo, Major Collins," Merle commented. "It looks as if you have this all figured out."

"Have I?" Alex leaned forward. "Why did you drag that child from whenever it was into this time for the Alpha Project?"

"Biochemistry," Merle answered. "We are genetically engineered. Every human in this time period is. Other species are no good because they don't have the same brain chemistry as humans. Besides, other species are sub-human, inferior and superfluous."

Alex inwardly shuddered at the way such a callous and bigoted viewpoint was delivered in much the same tone of voice as if Merle had been discussing a favourite food. "So you needed an un-engineered human?" he asked, managing to match her tone.

"You **do** understand!" Merle smiled. Alex cringed. "For the Alpha Project to work I needed an un-tampered with brain. That was the problem -- why it failed to work for Time Force. Once I had an unaltered brain, it worked perfectly. I must confess to being rather proud of her."

There was no possible response to that statement. Instead, Alex said, "So once the Alpha Project was implanted, you then put her through memory adaptation and gave her a lie for a background."

"It wasn't a lie, exactly," Merle replied, "more..."

"It was a lie," Alex thundered. "You erased everything that child might have been in her own time and implanted false memories -- and had the arrogance to implant yourself as her ersatz, but conveniently dead, mother."

Merle looked taken aback. "It was a means to an end."

Alex counted to ten. Slowly. When he was sure he wouldn't react angrily to the suggestion, he said, "A means to **what** end?"

"The destruction of Time Force."

"And what about the child?" Alex asked.

"What about her?" Merle replied, clearly bemused. "She's just a pawn in the game, it's not as if she matters."

"Of course."

It took every scrap of training and self-control for Alex to calmly get up and leave the room without strangling the twisted specimen of humanity sitting opposite him. As the interview room door slid shut behind him, he was met by Lucas.

"Sir?"

Alex looked grim. "Lucas -- I need you to contact Eric Myers. I need you to tell him it's vital that he hooks up with Wes and Jen." Alex suddenly felt very, very old and tired. "I need you to tell him that if necessary, he needs to take out Jen. By any means necessary."

~*~

Wes pulled the bike into the roadside.

"Why are we stopping?" Jen asked, slightly puzzled.

"The mine entrance is about half a mile further up the road," Wes replied, turning the bike's engine off. "If I was Biocon, the one place I'd have security is watching the entrance."

Jen nodded. "Good point." She slid off the bike. "Any ideas?"

"One," Wes agreed as he climbed off the bike. "Help me hide the bike."

"Where?" Jen wondered.

Wes inclined his head in the direction of the unruly looking hedge. "That fits the bill nicely."

It took a little doing but they finally succeeded -- a casual glance wouldn't reveal the bike, although anything more than that and the bike would stand out like a sore thumb.

"OK, now what?" Jen asked.

"Follow me." 

Wes headed back the way they'd come. Bemused, Jen followed. Abruptly, Wes turned and headed **through** the hedge.

"You want to let me in on where we're going?" Jen asked, still following.

"The mine's up there," Wes said, pointing up the hill.

"Yeah, I know that."

"So we're just gonna take a little walk this way," Wes continued, pointing to go around the hill, "and come up and over the hill top."

"To look down over the mine?" Jen suggested.

"That's the idea," Wes agreed.

"Lead on, then," Jen replied.

~*~

Eric entered Silverhills hospital, still mulling over the orders Lucas had relayed to him from Alex. _What kinda guy does that jerk think I am?_ he wondered. _Take out Jen..._ He snorted. _She's my...friend -- I don't have too many of those to go around killing them._

He wasn't sure what disgusted him more. The order, or the fact that if circumstances arose, he knew he'd follow it.

"You look like hell," observed a voice, pulling Eric from his thoughts. Looking up, he spotted Rocky, heading towards him. "Didn't manage to sleep, huh?"

Eric gave a rueful smile. "Woken by the phone." It wasn't strictly accurate, but it was easier than explaining about the morpher.

Rocky, for his part, winced. "That sucks."

Eric nodded. "And the phone call was to tell me to get my ass back to Del Oro Bay." Again, not the whole truth, but as much of it as he felt he could tell.

"You're not planning on driving back now, are you?" Rocky asked.

"Don't exactly have a lot of choice."

"Yes you do."

"I do?" Eric queried, blankly.

Rocky chuckled. "I'll drive you."

Eric stared. "Excuse me?"

"Kim would sauté me -- and you, come to that -- if I didn't offer. And bluntly, my friend," Rocky added, "you look wiped. I'll drive, you can catch some sleep."

__

TO BE CONTINUED...


	15. Chapter 14 - As The World Falls Down

Disclaimer: Eric, Rocky, Wes, Jen, Alex, Lucas, Trip and Katie don't belong to me they belong to BVE. They're borrowed without permission, but no harm, no foul, no money made. Director Nechev, the hapless guards, Merle Askot, Biocon/Jack Scotts and Merck Taylor do belong to me -- you're welcome to borrow but please ask me first.

The song that is sung at the end of this chapter does not belong to me, either. The IDC Song Parodying Club created it in the summer of 1977 by persons safely anonymous. The correct lyrics follow on at the end of the chapter. (Should anyone be interested...)

With grateful thanks to Vanessa (for the cattle prodding), to Anthea (for agreeing with me over the lyrics), Dagmar (for the threats) and most especially to Gamine for patiently nitpicking and coming up with several incredibly useful plot points. You guys are wonderful -- thank you.

Please offer feedback -- it tells me how I'm doing.

~*~

Max Force -- As The World Falls Down

Alex was only surprised by how long it took before Lucas, Trip and Katie cornered him.

"What the hell is going on, Alex?" Lucas hissed.

"Did you give Eric those orders?"

Alex suddenly found himself being pinned against the hallway wall by a very angry Lucas. "Yes -- and now I want to know why I've just had to order Eric to 'take out Jen'."

"Don't think I liked giving that order," Alex retorted. "Because I don't. Not one little bit."

"But you still gave the order," Lucas snapped.

"I didn't have a choice."

"Bull..."

"Lucas, he's right." Katie's quiet assertion cut Lucas off.

"What?!" Trip and Lucas both turned glares on her.

"Look," said Alex quietly, "if you let go of me, Lucas, we can go to my office and I can explain, but I am not explaining this here."

Lucas growled, "You'd better explain."

~*~

"What does it look like?" Wes asked quietly as Jen retreated from the cliff edge.

"Not huge," Jen answered. "Looks like there's one tunnel in and out. Of course, the subterranean stuff could be huge, but..."

Wes nodded. "Think we can take it?"

Jen pulled a face. "There's one major problem." Wes waited. "I counted six cyclo-sabre wielding guards."

Wes stared. "What did you say?" Bemused, Jen repeated it and Wes groaned. "Damn it!"

"Excuse me?"

"I **knew** there was a significance to the three week time period that kid in San Diego mentioned."

"Which is...?" Jen prompted.

"The cyclo gangs who've been coming to Silverhills." Wes slowly shook his head. "The first one showed up just after new year."

"Which would tie in with Biocon's arrival in this time period."

  
"And all of the gangs have come from north of Silverhills, most of 'em coming from north of Del Oro Bay..." Wes groaned again. "We should have guessed."

Jen offered a shrug. "Hindsight's always twenty/twenty."

Wes sighed and leaned against a nearby rock. "I guess." He looked at Jen. "So what do we do now?"

"Good..." 

But Jen couldn't finish her answer as Wes' morpher suddenly bleeped. He glanced at Jen, who shrugged. He acknowledged the call.

"Wes?"

"Go ahead Eric," Wes answered.

"Where are you guys? I phoned the house and got no reply."

Wes smiled faintly. "Halfway up a hill just to the south of San Rafael."

"We've found Biocon's hide out," Jen contributed.

"I'm on my way," Eric responded.

"What?! Eric, are you nuts?"

"Probably," Eric agreed.

"You have your hand in a cast," Jen objected.

  
"And your point is? Like you said," he retorted, "we're a team. Right?"

Wes smirked and shook his head. "I wouldn't bother arguing, Jen -- he'll do this whether it's a good idea or not."

"As someone put it," Eric contributed, "I'm too stubborn for my own good sometimes."

Jen groaned. "You're insane."

"What's the location like?" Eric asked, apparently ignoring Jen's comment.

"Abandoned mine with..."

  
"At least six guards," Jen supplied, still shaking her head.

There was a long pause. "It's going to be about four hours before I'm there..."

"Eric are you sure you want to do this?" Wes cut in.

"Yes." Wes got the impression Eric was rolling his eyes. "For the last time."

"OK. We'll hook up in San Rafael," Wes suggested.

  
"Wes and I will finish the recon," Jen added.

"Sounds good to me. Just let me know where in San Rafael."

"Will do." Wes cut the connection. "So much for him not taking part in this."

Jen shook her head. "He's **nuts**."

Wes shrugged. "I'd sooner have Eric with a broken hand backing me up than I would a lot of people."

Jen sighed. "Same here. But..."

  
"But he's still crazy," Wes finished. "That's Eric for you."

~*~

The second the office door was shut and the privacy lock was engaged, Alex said,

"OK. For the record, I'm not going to call anyone in this room up on subordination charges -- although I would be well within my rights to do just that, Lucas."

"Cut the crap, Alex. Right at this moment, I don't **care** what you do to me," Lucas retorted with barely constrained anger. "You've just ordered your ex-fiancée to be killed, there's nothing that you could do now that would surprise me. I want some answers." 

"Answers. All right. Merle Askot was Jen's mother's maiden name. Jack Scotts is Jen's 'dead' uncle. Jen's parents 'died' at Shendraville. Jen is twenty-six. She was six when she was left in the care of her uncle after her parents were killed... You do the math on that -- and I hope you can come up with a different answer."

"No..." Lucas shook his head. "You're wrong. Jen isn't...wouldn't..."

"He's not wrong, Lucas," Katie put in. "It's the whole reason I'm here."

"What?" Trip asked.

"I've known Jen almost my whole life," Katie replied. "The Scotts family are big landowners in New Orleans. Momma worked for them when I was little, two days a week, as a visiting nurse -- Grandma Scotts...Jack Scotts' mom...was very old and infirm. Momma used to take me with her and Jen and I used to play together. I probably know more about Jen and her family than anyone else does."

"So?" Lucas snapped.

  
"So I can promise you that Alex isn't wrong about this. You might not like it -- I know I don't -- but we've already proved who Jack Scotts is."

"You think I like this, Lucas?" Alex added. "You think that just because Jen and I split up I somehow stopped caring about her? The one order I didn't want to have to give was the one I've given. I've spent the last three days hoping and praying that my gut instinct was going to be proved wrong -- but I can't hide my head in the sand. If Jen isn't Askot's little 'project' then it's all one heck of a coincidence -- and frankly, I didn't get to be where I am right now by believing in that kind of coincidence."

Lucas looked shaken. "But..."

Alex's own frustration boiled over. He grabbed Lucas by the shoulders and pinned him up against the office door. "No buts, Kendall. I don't damn well like this. I don't **like** having to be the guy that orders that trigger to be pulled but I don't have any damn choice about this." Lucas opened his mouth. "No, you listen to me, Kendall. I know Jen, and I know that she has **no** idea of this. But that doesn't mean she isn't dangerous. Jack Scotts is her Alpha Overseer and in his hands..."

"Alex -- stop it," Katie interjected.

"No, I won't. I am sick of people thinking that I am some unfeeling, inhuman son of a bitch like Merle Askot. That's what you all think, isn't it?"

"No," Trip answered quietly. "We **know** you're not like Merle Askot."

"Do you." Alex swallowed. With difficulty, he gritted out the authorisation code to cancel the privacy lock. "Get out."

"What? But..."

"Get. Out."

"C'mon guys," said Trip quietly.

Alex moved to let them leave. Once they were gone, he slumped down into his seat.

"Ah, Alex." Alex looked up and saw Director Nechev in the now open office door way. He started to lift himself out of his seat to greet her when she produced a chronoblaster. "Don't bother getting up, Alex -- we have a lot to talk about."

~*~

"So," said Rocky, pulling onto the interstate, "you want to tell me what you need with that gear we just picked up?"

Eric offered Rocky a faint smile. The gear they had just picked up was three sets of Silver Guardian equipment harnesses. "We're not actually going to Del Oro Bay."

Rocky snorted. "That's not exactly news to me."

"We're going to San Rafael."

"OK -- why?"

Eric sighed. "You heard Kim mention ranger business?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well..." Eric debated what to say. "It's kinda...complicated."

"You amaze me," said Rocky dryly. "Just start from the beginning and work forward."

"It's going to sound nuts."

"I'm from Angel Grove," Rocky replied. "Nuts is the norm."

Eric found himself chuckling. "OK. But don't say I didn't warn you..."

~*~

Alex looked from the chronoblaster to Nechev's face and back.

"We do?" he queried.

"We do," Nechev confirmed, sitting down. "Activate the privacy lock."

"And lock myself in here with a woman waving a chronoblaster at me?"

"As you say," Nechev retorted mildly, "I'm the one with the chronoblaster, and -- unless I very much miss my guess, you're the one without any friends to make a heroic rescue."

Alex grimaced inwardly. She was right. After what he'd just said to Lucas, Katie and Trip there was no danger of them coming to look for him any time soon. Marissa might -- but that would depend on whether or not the others told her. He was so screwed.

"Engage privacy lock, Alex."

Alex sighed. "Privacy lock, authorisation alpha red one."

"Privacy lock activated."

"Much better." Nechev smiled. "Now...make yourself comfortable, Alex; it's not as if you're going to be going anywhere any time soon."

"What is this about?" Alex asked.

Nechev rolled her eyes. "Oh, come, come, Alex. You've figured everything else out. I'm sure you can work this out as well."

Alex felt his stomach give a lurch. The one thing they had yet to uncover was who had aided Biocon and Taylor in their escape. "It was you, wasn't it?"

Nechev smiled. "I do believe you finally understand."

~*~

It was late afternoon as Rocky finally hit San Rafael.

"Where are we supposed to be meeting them?" he asked.

There was a long pause while Eric yawned. "Rainbow Coffee Shop -- it's on Fourth Street some place."

To Rocky's ears, Eric still sounded exhausted. "Are you OK?"

"Just feed me caffeine and I'll be fine."

Rocky gave him a sideways glance. "That's not terribly healthy."

"I'll be OK -- what's the saying? I'll sleep when I'm dead?"

Rocky winced. "I'd rather not tell Kim you said that." 

Eric made no comment.

Rocky sighed and shook his head. "Well, this is Fourth Street," he announced. "You wanna yell when you spot the Rainbow Coffee Shop?" Before Eric could make a reply, Rocky chuckled. "On thinking about it, don't worry."

"Huh?"

Rocky pulled into the parking lot of the Rainbow Coffee Shop. "It was kinda obvious."

"So I see." Eric unbuckled his seatbelt. "Well, guess we should head in... Are you sure you want to do this?"

Rocky smiled. "They way you explained it, I figure you guys could use an extra pair of hands."

"True -- Wes, Jen and I are good, but taking down six guards without one of them having the chance to raise the alarm..." Eric shook his head.

"Besides -- I'm here," Rocky added. "And it's not like I have anything else planned for this evening."

~*~

"Why?" Alex asked.

Nechev smirked. "Why not?"

"There must be a reason," Alex stated. "Otherwise you wouldn't be here, threatening me with a blaster."

"True, true." Nechev leaned forwards. "Strangely enough, Alex, I did what I did because it was the only way."

"The only way what?"

"The only way Biocon would be made to pay."

~*~

Eric led Rocky into the Rainbow Coffee Shop. Wes and Jen were sitting at a booth table towards the back of the room, deep in conversation.

"This way," he murmured, and headed towards them.

"Hey Eric," observed Wes, looking up. "How's the hand?"

"Sore," Eric admitted. "And don't," he added, looking at Jen, "say a word."

Jen smiled. "It would be a waste of my time, right?"

"Right." Eric slid into the booth, sitting next to Wes. "Guys, this is Rocky DeSantos. Rocky -- this is Wes Collins and Jen..." He trailed off as he realised he didn't actually know Jen's surname.

"Scotts," Jen supplied.

"Hi," said Rocky. 

Eric thought there was a flash of shock in Rocky's expression when he was introduced to Jen, but he wasn't sure.

"Nice to meet you. Um..." began Wes, a little bemused.

"Rocky's offered to help," said Eric as Rocky took up the seat next to Jen.

"No offence," said Jen, "but why?"

"Well," Rocky answered, "I'm here anyway. Eric explained, briefly, on the way up here...and I figure you could use the extra help."

Jen looked sceptical. "Do you know how to fight?"

Rocky nodded. "Shenkito karate black belt, plus I've studied several other Martial Arts disciplines, although I've never formally tested in them. And, I've lived in Angel Grove since I was fifteen."

"Which puts him two up on me," Wes murmured.

"Any good with a gun or a blaster?" Jen persisted.

"I have a deadly aim with a cushion?" Rocky offered, smiling. "Seriously," he added, "one of my high school friends' dads taught me some basic firearms stuff one summer."

"From what you said earlier," Eric contributed, "with six guards..."

"Yes. True." Jen sighed. "OK. If you're sure," she added, looking at Rocky.

Rocky nodded. "If this guy is anything like the creeps we used to get in Angel Grove, or the creeps you were dealing with last year in Silverhills, I'm more than happy to help."

"With that settled," said Eric, "what we need now is a plan."

~*~

"You want Biocon to pay, so you help him escape into the past?" Alex queried. "Yeah, that makes a lot of sense."

"Sarcasm doesn't suit you, Alex," Nechev retorted. "And you would do well to remember which one of us has the blaster."

Alex shrugged. "Seems I'm dead whatever."

Nechev smiled. "Perhaps."

"So why don't you get on and either gloat or kill me."

Nechev slowly shook her head. "I always thought you had promise."

"I always thought you were a good officer," Alex retorted. "Guess we were both wrong."

"You want to know why I helped Biocon escape when I want him dead?" Nechev snapped. "I'll tell you. Because Jack Scotts deserves everything that he's got coming to him. Do you know what he did?" Nechev asked rhetorically. "He wiped out my family. And then -- and **then** he goes and asks me out. Offers me **comfort**. The son of a bitch...all the while, he **knew**. Well. A woman scorned, Alex. A woman scorned is a very, very dangerous thing."

~*~

"Fry me a baboon -- and I will eat it...with a mars!"

The source of the off key caterwauling came into view of the mine compound's gateway -- a clearly drunk Hispanic and his girlfriend. The guards on the gate stared at them in amusement.

"Eh, senor!" yelled one. "The bar's back that way."

The Hispanic and his girlfriend staggered up to the gate. "Hey," he slurred. "You gotta drink?"

His girlfriend tittered and staggered into him. The guards shook their heads.

"Buddy, I think you've had enough to drink for one day," stated the nearest guard.

The Hispanic stumbled closer. "Sure you ain' got 'ny drink?" he asked.

"C'mon buddy -- this here's private property," the guard said, trying to get the Hispanic to turn back.

"Jus' one liddle drink..." The Hispanic swayed closer to the gate, his girlfriend tottering into the unwilling arms of the nearest guard.

"Surprise," she said softly.

Before he could have a chance to clarify the comment, she fired the concealed blaster into his stomach, stunning him. Behind her, her suddenly completely sober 'boyfriend' likewise produced a blaster and stunned three more guards while the remaining two were stunned by blasts from the cliff top above the tunnel entrance. In less than ten seconds, all six guards were out cold.

"Good job, Rocky."

"That was fun," Rocky answered as two dark blurs vaulted down from the cliff top. "Can we do it again?"

Jen snickered. "Here." She threw a roll of duct tape in his direction. "Start taping 'em up."

"Yes ma'am."

"Rocky," Eric observed, dragging over one of the guards, "has anyone told you that your singing is **awful**?"

"Lots of times," Rocky admitted, starting to tape together the first guards' wrists. "But you gotta admit, it worked out."

"Oh, I don't know -- too much more and they'd have shot you to get you to shut up."

"Everyone's a critic."

Ten minutes after the assault all the guards were taped and gagged and left in a huddle in the centre of the compound yard.

"Are we going to morph before or after we get in there?" Wes asked.

"Morph now," Jen replied. "Saves time."

"Time for Time Force!"

"Quantum Power!"

Rocky shielded his eyes from the brilliant flash of light that followed. He had forgotten just how bright a mass morph could be and he had to control the urge to reach for a long gone morpher of his own. When the light faded, it was clear to Rocky that Eric was saying something via the comm. system that wasn't broadcasting. Judging from the way Eric was now cradling his left arm and hand, Rocky was quite glad he couldn't hear it.

"Not one word," Eric finally muttered audibly.

Rocky had to laugh at the way Jen's hands went to her hips. "Eric, I think you are so much toast when this is through," he observed.

"Toast?" said Jen with a shake of her head. "He's not toast, he's **charcoal** when this is done."

"Rocky, are you sure you're going to be OK waiting out here?" Wes asked, changing the subject.

Rocky nodded. "It's not like those boys," and he nodded in the direction of the trussed up guards, "are going to be in a position to give me any trouble and I have two fully charged blasters. Besides," he added, "the last thing you guys need is an un-powered civilian to worry about. I'll be fine up here."

Three nods met his statement and they turned to head into the mine.

"Good luck," he called.

"Thanks -- you too."

~*~

Eric led the way into the mine, making use of a scanning function built into the Quantum Morpher; Jen followed, with Wes covering the rear.

The tunnel was pitch dark and only the night-vision element in her visor prevented her from running straight into Eric's back. She could hear Eric over the internal comm. system keeping up an almost running commentary, sotto voce. She was tempted to ask him to shut up, but the words 'you're not there' and 'this is now, not then' kept cropping up. She got the feeling this might have something to do with the source of the nightmare -- as a result, she said nothing.

"How're we doing?" Wes asked, presently.

"If there's any surveillance equipment in this tunnel, I'm not picking it up," Eric answered. "And it looks like there's a big cavern coming up."

"How far?" Jen asked.

There was a pause. "About a hundred yards." There was another pause. "And it looks like we have a welcoming committee."

"Many?" Wes asked as they came to a halt.

"Two for sure -- but the whole far end of the place is running hot with life-signs. Could be people or it could just be bats...wait..." There was a tense pause. "Looks like ten others -- so an even dozen all told. I think there's something in the rocks that's throwing the QM off."

"How sure are you?" Jen asked.

"Positive," came the response. "If I didn't know better," Eric added, dryly, "I'd say they just dropped some sort of interference screen."

"Sounds like they know we're coming," Wes observed. "What now?"

"Well," Jen answered. "Since they know we're coming -- let's not disappoint them."

"Twelve to three odds," Eric mused.

  
"They don't stand a chance," Wes put in.

"If you guys are sure...?"

"Let's get this son of a bitch," Eric answered.

"All the way, Jen," was Wes' response.

Jen took over the lead of their small procession as they headed towards the cavern. This was what they came here to do. This was what she came back to this time to do. This was 'it'. And then there was no time for those kinds of observations as the tunnel opened up into a dimly lit cavern. She automatically came to a halt just inside, aware of Eric and Wes flanking her. Five yards ahead stood two figures. One was clearly a Time Force officer -- the white of his uniform managing to gleam even in this murky light. The other was tall and swathed in robes. Taylor and Biocon.

"I don't know," said Taylor, "whether to be insulted they only sent three people after us, or honoured that Time Force sent rangers."

"You're going down," Jen promised. "So why don't you make it easy on yourselves and give yourselves up?"

Biocon laughed. "Because where would the fun be in that?" He took a step forward and started to unwind the headpiece of his robe.

Jen felt her knees turn to water as the last section of the mask dropped away and she could see his face.

"Hello, Jennifer -- miss me?"

__

TO BE CONTINUED...

~*~

__

The correct lyrics for the song that Rocky's singing as he approaches the guard post are: Fly me to the moon and let me play among the stars.


	16. Chapter 15 - Fight For Your Life

Disclaimer: Nechev, Biocon and Merck Taylor and some assorted, unnamed SWAT team members and hapless goons belong to me (you're welcome to borrow but please ask me first). The rest of the characters are borrowed without permission from BVE. No harm, no foul, no money made.

With very, very grateful thanks to both Gamine and Ecolea who've helped to shape this chapter. Also with thanks to everyone who commented on the ending of the previous chapter -- good to see that a cliffhanger I've been planning for two months (and believe this or not, it's the only one I've actually planned) worked out.

Please offer feedback, it tells me how I'm doing -- glad everyone's enjoying it so far

~*~

Max Force -- Fight For Your Life

Alex stared at Nechev, wondering just what she meant.

"It's quite simple," she continued, "by letting him go back into the past, Time Force could send all necessary force to stop him and the chances of him ever coming back are remote. Which is exactly what the son of a bitch deserves. 'Help me out for old times' sake'," she added, in a mimicking tone of voice. "Oh, I'll help him all right -- help him right into the grave."

~*~

The silence was deafening in the cavern. Jen found herself staring at Biocon in numb shock and horror.

"You know this guy?" Eric asked over the internal comm. system.

"I..."

"Well? Got nothing to say to your long lost Uncle Jack?" Biocon continued.

"You're dead," Jen whispered.

Biocon snickered. "I got better."

The numbness was suddenly replaced by fiery anger as Jen realised her whole life had been built on the back of a lie. "You son of a bitch! You..."

Biocon smiled. "Yes, I did," he agreed. The smile vanished, leaving a dangerous expression on his face. "Alpha Project online."

~*~

"Do you have any idea what you've done?" Alex asked as Nechev paused for breath. She looked at him blankly. "Do you have any **clue** what Scotts' plan actually is?"

"It doesn't matter!"

"Oh it does," Alex retorted. If he was about to die, he was determined that Nechev would at least understand what she had set in motion. "His plan is to destroy Time Force."

"He can't -- he hasn't got that kind of power."

Alex gave a bitter laugh. "And what happens if, in the process of being taken out in the past, he releases another bio-attack? What happens if he wipes out a large chunk of the population of that time period? Do you seriously believe that would have no effect on **this** time period?"

Nechev looked shaken. "But he can't!"

"Oh, but he can," Alex retorted. "And thanks to me, he's got the perfect soldier to do his dirty work."

~*~

Wes felt rooted to the spot, as Jen froze literally in mid-movement. For a second, he thought it was in shock at Biocon's words but the rigid way she was now standing quickly made a lie of that idea. None of this was making any sense.

"Alpha: Demorph."

At Biocon's command, Jen demorphed. Wes stared in horror as it began to dawn on him what the Alpha Project was.

"Alpha: Come."

Jen started to walk towards Biocon. The movement snapped Wes out of his trance. He had to stop her. One way or another. Just as when Steelix had somehow created a new personality, he had to do something.

Wes moved forward.

~*~

"What do you mean?" Nechev asked.

She was nervous, Alex noted idly. "I mean that I found out who Biocon's sleeper agent is -- and what she's capable of." Nechev blanched. "And I was the one who sent her to track him down. So you kill me -- fine. Kill me. We'll both be distant memories soon anyway. Biocon has been one step ahead of Time Force the whole time."

~*~

Eric stared in something close to horror as Jen literally froze at the command. With a sinking sensation, he realised **this** was why Alex had given him the orders. 

That was confirmed a moment later when Biocon added, "Alpha: Demorph."

"Power down." Jen's voice was flat and toneless, her movements jerky and unnatural.

"Alpha: Come."

She started to walk towards Biocon.

Eric grimaced. He had a choice to make -- and he had to make it fast. Alex's orders. He could either follow them, or ignore them. Following them would prevent Biocon from having control over Jen and anything else that might entail...but following them would mean losing not one but two friends -- probably more, in fact. 

He was aware of Wes starting to make a move towards Jen.

__

Gotta do it. Gotta choose. Eric swallowed. _Gotta do what I was trained to do._

~*~

"What do you mean?" Nechev repeated.

"I mean Jen Scotts is Biocon's ace in the hole," Alex answered.

Nechev might or might not have had a response to that, Alex never discovered. In a cascade of transparent plasteel, his window imploded and a small, grey, cylindrical device landed a few feet to his left. _Flashbomb,_ he identified, already starting to move, instinctively ducking away from Nechev's aim point and away from the flashbomb. Then it went off.

Even though he'd been expecting it and had turned away to try and shield his eyes from the blast, Alex found himself robbed of sight. Nechev -- who had presumably not seen the flashbomb land -- screamed. Her chronoblaster went off -- he felt the shot graze his shoulder. There was a confusion of chaos and noise and pain; Alex thought he could hear people coming in through both the doorway and the window -- although that was impossible since the room was under privacy lock.

Another blaster whined and Nechev gave a choked off scream.

"Got her!" someone exclaimed, although he didn't recognise the voice.

Pain in his left shoulder found an ally in his right as he finally hit the ground.

"Damn it -- she got him first," someone else exclaimed. "Where's the med team?"

"Med team's here," announced a voice that could only belong to a medic, Alex decided. All around her was chaos and panic but she remained an ocean of calm. "Where's my patient?"

"Over here, Doc," identified the second voice.

"OK. Major Collins -- can you hear me?" the medic asked.

Alex opened his mouth to reply and found that his voice had mysteriously vanished. That was when his brain caught up to the fact that the rest of him had long since gone into shock. The medic continued to talk to him but the words started to blur together.

The sudden sting of an unexpected hypospray against his neck was enough to draw back a shred of consciousness.

"It's just a mild sedative," the medic informed him. "We're going to move you down to Medical and get you properly checked out..."

The sedative was already doing its work. Alex could feel the world drifting away from him, taking the pain with it.

~*~

Eric moved to draw the Quantum Defender, but as he did so, he spotted movement off to the side, to Wes' right.

"Wes get down!" Eric yelled.

Wes didn't question the order, instead just dropped to the ground, allowing Eric to fire the Defender at the person sneaking up on Wes' position.

That was the cue for all hell to break loose. The welcoming committee surged forward and very quickly eliminated Eric's ability to use the Defender. And these weren't, he swiftly realised, the same brainless thugs who had turned up in Silverhills. The cyclo-sabres had to have come from the same source, but these boys were good.

They crowded him, forcing him back until he was backed up right against the wall, limiting his range of movement. It was almost, Eric realised, as if they knew the way he fought and were doing their best to keep him from using his skills. He needed to break out of this press and get them onto his terms.

Seeing an opportunity, he dropped to his knees and threw himself forward, between two of his attackers, arms outstretched. As his hands came into contact with the cavern floor, he scrabbled for purchase, found it and managed to lever himself into a slightly ungainly summersault forwards. Coming out of the roll, he turned and reached his feet in one smooth move, ready for his attackers.

It took a moment for them to realise he'd slipped their grasp. When it did, to a man, they turned to face him, but they'd given him enough time to be ready. Their earlier advantage of numbers and space was gone and Eric found himself smiling: They were going down.

  
"**STOP**!"

The command rang out through the cavern. Eric found his attention being drawn to the source...and found his resistance draining away in a rush.

"No..." he whispered.

~*~

As Wes moved forward, towards Jen, Eric yelled,

"Wes get down!"

Wes automatically dropped to the ground at the command. A moment later and a blast of energy from the Quantum Defender passed through where he'd been standing to hit the person who had been sneaking up on him. But there was no time for him to feel relief as everything exploded into a pitched battle.

The welcoming committee surged forwards. Wes rolled back to his feet, only to find himself rolling into a barrage of cyclo-sabre fire. Some of the blasts were poorly aimed and missed him, but most struck home before he had a chance to avoid them. Dizzy and disoriented by pain, he didn't notice the person coming up behind him until they swept his legs out from under him.

He crashed to the ground, knocking his head hard against the stone floor. Black spots danced across his vision in a way that told him unconsciousness was not far off. He was vaguely of someone grabbing his arms and pinning them behind him. He knew he should try to fight back but he couldn't seem to summon up the energy or coherence.

__

I am so screwed...

Then the person managed to drag off his helmet and press the muzzle of a small pistol against his left temple. The press of cold metal against his skin took away what little fight he had left. Wes froze.

"**STOP**!"

The command came from Biocon and brought with it sudden silence. It took several moments for Wes to realise it meant that until then, Eric had still been fighting.

"Alpha: Get the prisoner to his feet."

It was only when Wes found the person holding him captive hauling him to his feet, the gun muzzle never straying from his temple, that it penetrated the confusion in his mind that his captor was Jen.

~*~

Alex felt himself slowly swim back to consciousness. It took a few moments before he recalled where he was and why his shoulders ached. But when that reason drifted through the wadding that seemed to be filling his mind, he was suddenly fully awake. His eyes snapped open...and he found himself staring at Nadira.

She looked a little self-conscious. "Um..." she began.

"What're you doing here?" he asked, his voice little more than a croak. _Damn I hate getting shot. _

"We...ah...that is..." Nadira trailed off, swallowed, and tried again. "How're you feeling?"

"Like I stepped into a parallel universe," Alex admitted. "What's going on?"

"Katie, Lucas and Trip should be here to explain," Nadira answered, "but...they figured you might toss them out on their asses before they had the chance."

Alex reviewed his last conversation with the trio and looked sheepish. "I guess they would."

Nadira offered him a tentative smile. "Do you want them to come in to explain?"

Alex nodded. "No offence."

"None taken, I'll go and get them."

Before Alex could say anything, Nadira had left the room. Moments later and Lucas, Trip and Katie filed in.

"Before you say anything, sir," said Lucas quietly, "I'd like to apologise."

"Me too," put in Katie.

"Make that three," Trip contributed.

Alex found himself gaping. It was only with an effort that he managed to close his mouth, although he was still stunned. An apology was comfortably the last thing he had imagined they were going to say.

"I was way outta line...and it nearly got you killed," Lucas finished.

Alex blinked. "I know I'm a little woozy, and I know I haven't got the faintest idea how the hell I'm still here and not a greasy spot on my office wall, but I'm fairly certain you weren't in the room, Lucas."

Lucas cracked a faint smile. "No, sir, but if I hadn't been such a complete doofus..."

"And if I hadn't played things so damn close to my own chest, and hadn't lost sight of the fact that we still hadn't identified Biocon's accomplice," Alex countered, "**none** of that would have happened." He frowned. "Doofus?"

"Twenty-first century slang," Trip explained.

Alex almost wished he hadn't asked. "Nadira said you could explain what happened?"

"Trip," said Katie.

"Trip?"

"I got a...a vision," Trip admitted, looking a little self-conscious. "I saw Nechev's intent...and 'saw' her go into your office... We headed straight back but the privacy lock was on...Katie and I stayed and tried to bypass that while Lucas tracked down Captain Logan."

"He organised the SWAT team," Lucas put in.

Things were starting to become clear. "I see...I think." It would probably take a few more hours before his head felt up to actually processing what he'd just been told. "Thanks."

Lucas offered a faint smile. "You're welcome."

~*~

Biocon laughed. "You see -- she is completely mine," he gloated. "One command from me and his brains will be splattered all over this cavern."

Eric said nothing. He could see the muzzle of the gun pressed up against Wes' temple. While he was a good enough shot that he could take out Jen without hitting Wes, the time it would take him to bring the Quantum Defender up to aim and fire would be more than long enough for Biocon to give the command.

"All you need to do," Biocon continued, "is give up. Demorph, turn the Quantum Morpher over to Captain Taylor and he," Biocon gestured towards Wes, "lives."

The expedient thing to do was shoot Biocon. But that almost certainly signed Wes' death warrant -- and Jen's. There was no way that he could take down Biocon and Taylor and the remaining members of the welcoming committee before any of them could do anything untoward. His training screamed shoot Biocon. Sacrifice the few for the many.

"But continue to resist me, and he dies. By her hand. And," Biocon added with a leer, "she knows what's going on."

Eric felt his heart sink. He had assumed that whatever control Biocon had over Jen had somehow wiped her memories but if what the terrorist said was true -- and this was purely a physical control not a mental one... A long look at Jen told the truth of Biocon's statement. Silent tears were coursing down her face even as she pressed the muzzle of the pistol tight against Wes' temple. It was one thing to put deaths on his own conscience. He couldn't do that to Jen.

"Power down," he whispered.

The demorph brought with it a wave of pain from his hand. The cast, it appeared, hadn't survived morphing, although that realisation seemed inconsequential, somehow. Taylor smartly stepped forward and, without ceremony, tore the Quantum Morpher from his wrist. Eric winced but stayed silent. This was Biocon's show now.

"Good -- very good." Biocon smiled, the expression lending a certain demonic cast to his face. "I know all about you, though. Just having you demorph doesn't render you powerless."

Biocon snapped his fingers. Two of the former welcoming committee jumped forward. Roughly, one of them dragged Eric's arms behind his back. Pain lanced through his injured hand at the move. He gritted his teeth, but as he felt cold steel against his wrists and felt the weight of a very solid set of handcuffs settle against the injury the pain intensified, and despite his better efforts, a groan of pain forced itself out.

Biocon immediately looked interested. "An injured wild animal... That makes you even more dangerous."

Before Eric had a chance to make any kind of comment, he found himself falling backwards as his legs were swept out from under him. He landed awkwardly, shoulders first, then his whole weight slammed down on his injured hand. The wave of pain threatened to make him black out.

Precious seconds ticked past in a haze of agony before he managed to move off his back and sit up, in which time shackles had been added to his ankles.

Biocon chuckled. "Much better -- the savage beast is tamed. Although I know a way to make you utterly mine, and just as soon as Merle gets here..."

"You can do what you want to me," Eric cut in. "I won't be yours."

Biocon laughed. "You're quite wrong..."

"Oh, I don't know about that," offered a new voice. "I'd say he was absolutely right."

The voice was heavily disguised, but Eric got the feeling he knew the speaker. He saw a brief flash of red speed across the floor and climb Taylor's body. Just a tiny dot of red light -- in fact, he doubted he'd have seen it if he hadn't happened to be looking in the right direction.

The dot reached the centre of Taylor's chest. 

"Alpha: New target."

To Eric's surprise Jen's grip on Wes was immediately released. But if Eric was surprised, Biocon was shocked. Every line of his expression suggested a man completely and utterly amazed by something that wasn't possible. Eric realised the new Alpha command hadn't been issued by Biocon, which meant...

"But that's..." Biocon began.

"Alpha Project offline."

Two things happened at once. Taylor was hit by a pinpoint laser blast, guided by the red targeting laser. Jen spun round and started firing the 'gun' at Biocon. Eric was a little surprised to realise that what she'd been holding to Wes' head wasn't actually a handgun but a disguised blaster; he wasn't surprised that it was set to kill. Neither Taylor nor Biocon stood a chance.

"I suggest," the first voice continued, "that the rest of you put your weapons down and your hands up."

Five cyclo-sabres hit the cave floor.

"It's over."

Eric glanced in Jen's direction and saw her collapse to the ground. Somehow, that she made no sound -- although from the way her shoulders were shaking Eric knew she was crying -- made it all the more disturbing. _It's not over -- it's only just started,_ he realised.

The next few minutes were a little confused. Four people dressed completely in black seemed to materialise from the gloom. One of them went over to Jen's huddled form before going to Wes. There was a brief, quiet conversation, Wes powered down and headed for Jen.

Meanwhile the other three people rounded up the five members of the welcoming committee still on their feet plus the ones that Eric had successfully taken down. He vaguely wondered what was going to happen to them. It was going to be a law enforcement jurisdiction nightmare, that much he was sure about.

"Hold still."

Eric started. He hadn't spotted one of the black clad forms heading in his direction. "What the hell's going on?" he asked.

"Well I was going to release you from those restraints," observed the form dryly, "but..."

"Lucas?"

"Don't sound so surprised," came the answer. "You didn't think we were going to sit back and let you guys grab all the 'fun'?"

There was a click and Eric felt the cuffs drop away from his wrists. He hadn't noticed the burn in his shoulders while his wrists had been restrained, he noticed it now. His shoulders ached. He winced.

"You OK?" Lucas asked as the ankle shackles dropped away.

Eric rolled his shoulders. "Nothing a hot shower won't fix."

One of the other black clad forms -- Trip, Eric guessed, from the size and general build -- rescued the Quantum Morpher from Taylor's now very dead grip and tossed it in Eric's direction. Instinctively he reached out to catch it with his left hand, only to have it slip through pain-stiffened fingers. He couldn't quite prevent himself making a soft cry of pain.

"'Nothing a hot shower won't fix' be damned," Lucas retorted. "When we get out of here, you're getting that checked and fixed."

"Who made you God?"

Lucas offered a chuckle. "No-one, I just happen to outrank you right at this moment." Eric stared but could find no response to that statement.

"OK people -- let's move out," ordered the first voice. 

Now that Eric knew this was a Time Force squad, he suspected it belonged to Alex, although thanks to the distortion he couldn't be sure. Regardless of who it was, however, it was an order that Eric was more than ready to comply with.

__

TO BE CONTINUED...


	17. Chapter 16 - Truth...

Disclaimer: Alex, Wes, Jen, Lucas, Trip, Katie, Rocky and Eric don't belong to me, they belong to BVE. Josh McGrath, Pete Costas and N-Tek don't belong to me, they belong to Matel, Sony and a bunch of animation companies. No harm, no foul, no money made. Biocon, Taylor, Askot and the Alpha Project are all products of my hyperactive (not to mention sadistic and twisted) imagination. You're welcome to borrow, but asking me first would be nice.

With very, very grateful thanks to Gamine for the patient nitpicking and for allowing me to work bits and pieces of this back and forth with her -- this chapter would not be half the chapter it is without your help. Thank you. Thank you also to Vanessa, Selma and Irina for being there and listening to my whines.

Please offer feedback -- it tells me how I'm doing; glad you guys are enjoying it.

~*~

Max Force -- Truth...

Alex grimaced.

In one sense, the mission had gone off without a hitch. Biocon and Taylor were dead, Wes, Jen and Eric were a little knocked around, but otherwise OK and, although he had yet to receive confirmation from the new director of Temporal, he was reasonably sure there had been no additional screwing of the timeline.

__

Of course, he mused, _OK is a relative term._

Wes and Eric would be fine in a couple of days -- even including Eric's hand, which was currently being treated with thirty-first century first aid equipment (and Alex was definitely thankful he wasn't Trip, who was the one having to do that, from the way Eric was cursing). But Jen... She was another matter.

She seemed to shut down not long after Biocon's death, to the point where Wes had been forced to carry her from the mine to Eric's SUV and then from the SUV up to her bedroom in Vista Del Oro. If he'd had any doubts about the cruel and unusual nature of the Alpha Project, they had vanished at that.

"She's sleeping," Wes announced as he walked into the living room.

"That's probably for the best right now," Alex answered.

"You want to tell us what the hell is going on?" Wes continued.

Alex sighed. "It's...a long story," he admitted.

"Gee ya think?"

Alex ignored Eric's retort. "And until I can tell Jen too... If anyone here deserves this explanation, it's Jen."

"I'll say this for you," Eric drawled. Alex winced. "You've got your sense of timing down good. Although it was just as well -- given I couldn't follow those extra orders you gave me."

"What?" Wes asked, puzzled.

__

Might as well bite the bullet and get this bit over with, Alex thought with resignation. He **knew** Wes wasn't going to like this, but... "I gave Eric additional orders this morning. Specifically, to hook up with you and Jen and to...if necessary...take Jen down."

"You son of a bitch!"

Wes' fist connected with Alex's nose so fast that he never had a chance to duck. The telltale crunch of cartilage followed by an explosion of pain told him it was broken. He could feel blood flowing rapidly from it and he reeled back, away from Wes.

"And as for you..."

Although Alex couldn't see it, he got the impression that Wes lunged for Eric, only to be held back by Katie.

"Wes stop it!" Katie ordered.

"Here," said Lucas, offering Alex a towel in an effort to mop up some of the blood.

"I can't believe you're **siding** with **him**!" Wes exclaimed.

"I'm not," Katie answered, "but don't condemn him until you know the full story."

"This is Alex we're talking about," Wes snapped. "When has he **ever** told anyone the full story?"

"I promise," Alex cut in, "that the second Jen is up to hearing all of this, you will get **everything**. You have my word."

"And how good's that word?" Wes retorted.

Alex peered around the towel at Wes. "I suppose it's too much to hope that you might actually just believe me."

"Oh, I don't know -- the way I see it," Eric said belligerently, "is that you've lied and obfuscated your way through life. You pretended you were dead to your own fiancée; when you finally admitted you were still alive, you acted like a jerk and alienated her. As for now..." Eric paused for a moment, Alex could see the dislike glittering in his eyes. "Shall we say you've been...economical with the truth now. The perfect officer, really -- human emotions are just excess baggage, right?"

"You arrogant..."

Alex didn't bother to finish his sentence. Instead, he lunged for Eric, knocking him out of his seat. The pair of them crashed to the floor, Eric's head connecting with the wooden floor with a loud thud. For a second, Alex thought that might slow the other man up, but all it did was piss him off more. They grappled for a moment and then Alex found himself being pinned to the ground. Eric's right arm drew back in preparation for a blow that would inflict more damage to Alex's face.

"OK, that's **enough**!" Katie yelled.

Hands seized Eric's upraised arm and, before he could protest, twisted it round behind his back. Eric started to struggle.

"Bad idea," Katie warned. "Keep it up, I break it." Eric subsided, although Alex could see he was far from calm. "Now get up." When Eric showed signs of resisting, Katie twisted his arm further -- at least, that was what Alex guessed she did, given the way Eric's face briefly contorted into a wince.

"All right, all right."

Eric got back to his feet, which allowed Alex to sit up.

"Now," said Katie sternly, still retaining her grip on Eric's right arm, "are the three of you going to behave like rational adults or do I have to start breaking heads?"

"He attacked me!" Eric objected.

"And you all but told him to," Katie retorted. "Grow up, Eric. Why are you trying to make out that you and he are the bad guys in all this anyway?"

"It wasn't you he ordered to murder one of the only friends you have," Eric snapped. "But what's the difference if it gets the mission accomplished. Right Alex?"

A leaden silence descended. Alex hadn't even considered that aspect of his orders. He'd had no choice in giving them, nor in whom he'd given them to -- but...

"You didn't follow them."

"Only because Biocon didn't give me the chance to."

"Eric?" Wes sounded shocked.

Eric shrugged as best he could, given Katie was still holding his right arm, and attempted to look unconcerned. "I was about to take aim at Jen's back when I saw movement to your right."

That meant little to Alex, although from the expression on Wes' face it did have some significance.

"But that guy went down stunned," Wes objected. "You weren't..."

"More by luck than judgement," Eric interrupted.

Alex didn't believe that for one second. Nor did anyone else in the room -- particularly not Wes, from the looks of things.

"What are you blaming yourself for?" Trip asked quietly. Eric's head snapped up and round, eyes blazing. "Don't give me that," Trip retorted, stepping into Eric's space and meeting the expression. "That's what you're doing and you know it. What are you blaming yourself for?"

"I'm not..."

"Bullshit," Alex retorted, getting to his feet. He was tired and he ached and about the last thing he felt like dealing with was Eric Myers' pig-headedness, but he could see what Trip was driving at and knew the quiet Xybrian needed some form of back up. "You're blaming yourself for something, and you're using the power setting on the QD as a method of pushing everyone else away. Why?"

Eric's attention snapped back to him. "Why do you care?"

Alex forced himself to shrug. "Fine, you want to cast me as some heartless son of a bitch, you go right ahead. I'm used to people thinking that about me. Just leave yourself out of that equation."

Eric met Alex's gaze. "Why do you care?"

"Because," Alex answered quietly, "as far as I can see, you've done nothing to blame yourself for."

"Haven't I," Eric retorted in a flat tone of voice that suggested Alex knew nothing about it at all.

"As far as I can see," Alex continued, "you did everything you could back there."

"I **hesitated**," Eric snapped. "And now Jen is catatonic." He twisted in Katie's grip. "Let go of me," he hissed.

Stunned by the sudden venom in his words, Katie released her hold and he stalked out of the room. A moment later and the front door of the house slammed shut. There was a full minute of stunned silence, then the one person in the room who had so far not contributed to the conversation got to his feet.

"I'm going after him," Rocky stated.

Soon after that, the front door banged again, signalling Rocky's departure, leaving the rest of the occupants in the room at a complete loss for words.

~*~

It was only when he tried the driver's door of the SUV and found it locked that Eric realised he didn't have the keys.

"What are you running from?"

Rocky's voice startled him. "I'm not running," he retorted, not turning to face the other man.

"Sure," Rocky drawled sarcastically. "Something's got you spooked. And," he added, "I bet I know what it is."

"Oh, really." Eric finally, slowly, turned to face Rocky.

"Really," Rocky confirmed. "Kim. I don't know why, but something about Kim scares the hell out of you."

In the darkness, Eric felt a certain amount of relief in knowing that Rocky couldn't clearly make out his expression, because it meant Rocky couldn't see just how close to the mark that comment had been. "That's absurd."

"Yes," Rocky agreed. "Yes it is -- but that doesn't make it any less true. Does it? So I'll ask you again. What are you running from? Alex is right, isn't he?"

"What about?"

"That you were lying. I've only known you a couple of days and I didn't believe you when you said you didn't realise your blaster was set to stun. Nice try but no dice. You wanted to make everyone in that room hate you. Why? So that when you skip town you can look back and go 'it's not like I had any friends there'?"

Eric flinched. "You don't know anything about me."

Rocky shook his head. "I know a guy like you. Something bad happened to him and when it was over, he figured he was somehow not worthy to have friends, somehow not worthy to have a girlfriend...somehow not worthy to have a life."

"What happened to him?" Eric found himself asking.

Rocky gave a half smile. "You tell me, Eric. You tell me how this story's going to end."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the guy I knew tried to run. He didn't get too far, though. His friends refused to let him go. It took time and effort, but his friends managed to show him what they saw in him. Managed to show him that there was something in there for him to believe in again. Managed to show him that what had happened to him hadn't made him a bad person."

"Well good for him. He's not me -- and you don't know anything about me," Eric retorted.

Rocky folded his arms across his chest and stared at Eric. "Bullshit," he retorted flatly. "You might like to think you're some big enigma -- and maybe I don't know every last dime and nickel about you, but I know more about you than you think, as does Kim. Whose cell number was it that Alice knew to call? Who did Kim trust as her back up if Alice got into trouble? And who is it that, if he runs out now, is going to break Alice's heart?"

There was a nagging voice at the back of Eric's mind that agreed with Rocky's assessment. He ignored it. "So? She's a kid -- kids are resilient. She'll forget about me inside a week."

"Will she?" Rocky retorted. "Right now, you're her hero. You're the guy who saved her from Dirk. Sure I was there, but you were the one who saved her. What's that going to do to her if you up and leave?"

Eric had no response to that. He knew the truth in Rocky's words but he couldn't bring himself to admit that. Not yet. Admitting it would be admitting he was wrong. Admitting it would mean he was willing to risk staying. 

Rocky wasn't ready to quit yet, either. "For that matter, what's it going to do to Kim if you leave? She is still healing after that scuzz-bucket of an ex-husband. You're the only person from Silverhills she's talked about, and since she met you last summer, she's started sounding more like her old self. She trusts you -- what's it gonna do to her if you bug out now? It's gonna look like you had second thoughts."

Again, Eric had no response, but guilt welled up at the accusation. After this morning...who the hell was he to have said the past didn't matter? And again, Rocky was right -- it wouldn't matter how he phrased it to Kimberly, she would think he was leaving because of her.

"Then there's Jen -- who you've just said you're worried about," Rocky continued. "You leave now, and you make a lie of that statement right off. What kinda guy leaves when one of their friends needs their help? And Jen **will** need your help."

"You've made your point," Eric finally said quietly.

"Have I?" Rocky snapped. "Can you honestly say that you're not still thinking about running?"

"Of course I'm still thinking about it," Eric retorted. "I am scared spitless."

"Why?"

Eric sighed. "It's a long story."

Rocky shrugged. "OK. I won't push -- it's none of my business, at the end of the day, but let me tell you something. Kimberly is a tough customer. She knows you're a good guy. You can trust her -- and whatever it is, I can promise you, she won't run."

Eric opened his mouth to reply, but before he could say anything, a loud, fearful scream split the mid-evening air.

~*~

After Eric's dramatic departure, and Rocky's rather less dramatic but equally hasty exit, silence had descended. The only thing to break the silence had been the sound of Trip resignedly fixing Alex's broken nose -- or at least cleaning it up. Wes wasn't entirely sure which it was that Trip was doing -- and he wasn't about to ask either.

He was still trying to work out how he felt about Alex and the orders he'd given to Eric. He didn't regret punching Alex -- not for one second. It had been a callous set of orders. But... Wes realised, he'd been about to do just what Alex had ordered when the welcoming committee had rushed forwards. All of which meant that, much as Wes disliked it, he could at least understand Alex's thinking. What he didn't understand was why Alex had ordered them to Biocon's hideout if he knew about Jen.

Maybe he hadn't known -- maybe it had been a guess. Maybe Alex had just been covering all bases. That certainly sounded like something that Alex would do, Wes decided. But...

"**WES! NO!**"

Before Jen's scream had even finished reverberating, Wes was out of his seat and up the stairs two and three at a time. He was vaguely aware of the others trailing behind him and even more vaguely aware of the front door opening to admit Eric and Rocky, but his whole concentration was centred on reaching Jen's bedroom.

He burst in through the door to find Jen curled up in a foetal position, shaking, crying and murmuring, "I killed Wes!" over and over again.

"No you haven't," Wes answered, hoping that the sound of his voice would break through the panic. "I'm right here." There was no hesitation. Wes moved into the room and climbed onto the bed behind Jen so that he could draw her up into an embrace. "I'm right here," he repeated.

It took several long, heart-wrenching seconds before Jen said or did anything beyond sob. When she finally moved, she twisted in his arms until she could look at him. "Wes?" she whispered.

"Right here," he answered.

Suddenly she flung her arms around his neck and buried her face in the crock of his neck. "Oh my God...I thought I'd killed you," she murmured.

He could feel her tears against his skin. Gently he ran a soothing hand down her back. "You didn't kill me -- you didn't hurt me. I'm right here."

"Please...don't go...just...hold me..."

"I'm not going anywhere, Jen -- I promise."

She shifted a little until she was effectively sitting in his lap. "Please don't leave."

"I'm not going anywhere."

Wes himself shifted around until he found a comfortable position to sit in. As he did so, he felt Jen relaxing against him. She was soon fast asleep in his arms. The night before, they'd gone to sleep in each other's arms -- it looked as though they'd do the same tonight, but it would be for vastly different reasons. Last night, it had been out of love. Tonight, it felt as if she was clinging to him like he was some kind of lifeline.

Wes wished he could go back to this morning and prevent all this from happening. But there was no way to do that...all he could do was try to make things better.

__

But I doubt things will ever be the same.

~*~

Seeing that Wes was taking care of Jen, Katie -- who had somehow managed to be the first up the stairs behind Wes -- shooed everyone else back down to the living room. "It's not like we can do any good up here right now anyway," she commented softly. Her logic was irrefutable.

"So what now?" Lucas asked quietly.

"Good question," Alex admitted.

"Well I know what I need to do now," Rocky contributed.

"Oh?" said Alex.

Rocky nodded. "I need to get back to Silverhills before my wife decides I've gone missing. Eric I'm going to need to borrow your SUV."

"Sure."

"I'll come with you," Trip offered. "That way we can have the SUV back," he added as people stared at him in confusion.

"Good idea," Alex agreed. "Any objections?" The question was general, but clearly aimed at Eric, who shrugged.

"I'll bring Kim and Alice up when Kim's released from hospital," Rocky continued.

"Um, why?" asked Eric.

Rocky gave a faint smile. "Because Kim, 'Sha and I can fill in what I'm guessing is a huge gaping blank in Alex's explanations."

There was a long, stunned silence.

"How?" Alex finally asked.

Rocky offered another faint smile. "Like you said, Jen deserves the explanation." Reluctantly, Alex nodded. "I'll see you on Wednesday."

Nods were exchanged and Rocky departed

"I'm not apologising," Eric muttered, apropos of nothing.

Alex nodded. "I don't expect you to. I know what I did was cold. Just do yourself a favour," he added. "Tell Jen the real truth." Eric glared silently. "As for what next," Alex continued to the room in general, "I suppose we complete the surveillance mission -- which will tie up that last loose end here."

"You are kidding, right?" said Lucas in disbelief.

"I'm open to suggestions," Alex replied. "Unless anyone else can think of anything better to be doing." The silence was deafening. "Thought not." His attention returned to Eric. "What were you and Jen planning on doing?"

"Jen found a job working for the deli that provides N-Tek with lunch; I have a six week placement at Del Oro Bay College, starting tomorrow."

"Lucas -- think you can bluff your way into Jen's cover job?" Alex asked.

Lucas nodded reluctantly. "Sure."

"Then, that sounds like a plan." Alex sighed. He turned again to Eric. "Is there somewhere I can get some sleep?"

Eric looked mildly surprised at the question. "Sure -- there're rooms upstairs."

"Good." At least, that was what the word started out as -- it finished as a yawn that Alex didn't have a hope of stifling.

"Guess this hasn't exactly been a cake-walk for you," Eric observed.

Alex rubbed the back of his neck, trying to ease some of the tension residing there. "I've been shot, punched and generally kicked about. I feel like three-day-old crap. Medical wisdom says I shouldn't be here. Unfortunately, I also happened to be the person someone decided should have the entire details of the alpha project dumped into their mind when it was extracted from Merle Askot -- no don't ask who, it's a very long story. So I get to be here whether I want to or not." Alex stopped, swallowed and continued in a slightly less irritated tone of voice. "I've had a crap day, I'm tired -- I'd like to get some sleep."

Eric had the grace to look sheepish. "Sorry. Top of the stairs, turn right, end door."

"Thank you." Alex turned for the stairs. "For what it's worth -- I'm sorry."

There was a long moment before Eric shrugged in response. "You're a CO, I'm a grunt -- at the end of the day, you get paid to give orders I'm not gonna like," he said flatly. Then he sighed and shook his head. "I don't know the full story -- but I'm guessing, roles reversed I'd have done the same."

It was not an apology, but it was acceptance. Alex could take that.

~*~

Eric made a mental note to buy some Nitol on his way back to Vista Del Oro as he slid into his seat in preparation for his first class at Del Oro Bay College. This was now the fourth day he was running without proper sleep and it was beginning to tell.

"So, Josh -- good weekend?"

Covertly, Eric glanced around and finally located the source of the comment. Pete Costas -- surveillance target number two -- who was talking to Josh McGrath -- surveillance target number one.

"Wasn't bad," Josh replied.

"Could have fooled me," Pete retorted. "You look like hell."

Josh gave a laugh. "It was a bit hectic. Though not as hectic as his, I guess." To Eric's surprise, Josh nodded in his direction.

Pete turned to look. The temptation was to immediately look away but Eric knew that would look suspicious. Instead he met Pete's gaze and smiled.

"Hey man." Pete smiled in friendly greeting. Eric found himself smiling back. "You new here?"

"Six week exchange program," Eric answered, nodding. "Moved up last night."

Both Pete and Josh winced. "Ooh, that bites," Josh observed. "Josh McGrath," he added, introducing himself.

"Pete Costas," Pete added.

"Danny Johnson," Eric answered, giving the name of Ben's younger brother -- who genuinely was a student at Silverhills College, and who had been co-opted into the plan by his older brother. The real Danny was going to lie low for six weeks, allowing Eric to borrow his name and details. Which meant that should anyone decide to do a background check on 'Danny Johnson' they would find that he was a nineteen-year-old college student at Silverhills College who was doing a six week transfer at Del Oro Bay College.

"Well, welcome to the hell that is History at Del Oro Bay College," Josh joked. "Enjoy your stay!"

Eric didn't have a chance to reply as at that moment the lecturer came in to start the session.

__

At least being here means I don't have to deal with Alex, Eric mused as the class progressed. _But that's not too much of a consolation._

__

TO BE CONTINUED...


	18. Chapter 17 - ...Telling

Disclaimer: No-one who actually features in person in this chapter belongs to me, they're all borrowed from BVE without permission (no harm, no foul, no money made). Josh McGrath, Pete Costas and Laura Chan are borrowed from Sony, Mattel et al without permission (no harm, no foul, no money made). Biocon, Merle Askot and the Alpha project (who all get mentioned but don't appear in person) do belong to me, please do not borrow without asking me first.

The song lyrics (fractionally mis)quoted belong to Richie Sambora and his co-writers (messers Foster and Moroldo), and are taken from the track One Light Burning on the Stranger In This Town album. Really -- this album is the closest thing to an Identiverse soundtrack and I highly recommend it. (If you wish to know the correct lyrics, just drop me a line)

This chapter would not be where it is now without the fabulous input from Gamine -- who was endeavouring to get ready to go on vacation whilst helping me out. More thanks than I know how to say to you for this.

Please offer feedback -- it tells me how I'm doing, and yes, this is the penultimate chapter folks!

~*~

Max Force -- ...Telling

The first couple of days of the week were dismal. Apart from Eric and Lucas, who both had the surveillance mission to worry about, no-one had anything to do beyond wait and wonder whether or not Jen would recover.

It was a question that Jen herself couldn't answer. She didn't know what she was feeling. One minute she was as angry as she could ever remember feeling. Her whole life had been founded on a lie; her family wasn't who she'd always believed it to be; **she** wasn't who she thought she was. 

But then the gaps in what she actually knew became apparent and her mood would quickly turn to depression. She knew that Alex had the truth, but what if it was worse than she was imagining? Then the anger would return, this time directed at herself. Why wasn't she stronger? Then finally the tears would start and she'd find herself being soothed and held by Wes.

Wes.

That was something she didn't understand. Why was he here? Why would he want to see her in this state? Was this what love was?

She realised, somewhere on the afternoon of the second day that the answer to that last question had to be yes. 

But then a new doubt hit her: Just how much of what she was came down to Biocon?

The crying jag that thought produced was perhaps the longest so far. And somewhere, in the midst of the tears, with Wes' arms safely cocooning her, she made a decision. Regardless of what Alex's truth held for her, Biocon was not going to take Wes away from her. That was something she was going to fight for.

Late on the second day, Jen found herself unable to sleep. Conflicting images of a happy, carefree childhood spent in New Orleans with an uncle who loved her very much and of Biocon in the mine chased through her mind until she felt sick and dizzy. She needed to talk to someone, but Wes was asleep -- and she got the feeling that, while he'd do his best, this was something beyond his experience.

Listening, she thought she could pick up the soft strains of music. Not as loud as on the first night here, but still just about audible. She wondered if that meant Eric was asleep or awake. Deciding to chance it, Jen quietly slipped out of bed and padded to the door. The rest of the house was in darkness, but a sliver of light showed beneath Eric's door.

Not giving herself the chance to back out, she left her room and knocked on Eric's door. There was a muffled curse -- which sounded so strangely normal that Jen found herself smiling for the first time in who knew how long. A moment later and the door opened.

"I'm sorry about the...Jen?!" Eric looked startled.

Jen wasn't sure what to make of that. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to interrupt...I..."

Eric held up his hand, stalling her. "I have a history essay due in tomorrow -- please, **do** interrupt me. It's driving me nuts!" Not leaving her room to argue, he opened the door a little wider. "C'mon in."

Jen entered, realising for the first time that Eric was fully clothed while she was dressed just in a nightshirt. She ought to have felt embarrassed, but she couldn't quite bring herself to care.

"I figured you were one of the others come to complain about the music," Eric admitted as he closed the door behind her.

"You do everything to music?" Jen found herself asking.

He gestured to the bed, indicating that she should sit down. "Pretty much -- I don't handle total silence well." He turned the desk chair around and sat down facing her. "Although I've always listened to a lot of music." He grinned faintly. "It was something that was mine regardless." His smile faded. "What can I do for you?"

Jen sighed. She looked down at her hands, lacing and unlacing her fingers. "How do you stay sane?"

She heard him sigh. "There's a question."

Now that the first question was out, the second came easier. "How do you live with what happened to you without breaking down and screaming?"

"Who says I don't?" Eric replied quietly.

Jen's head snapped up. That was a response she hadn't expected. "What do you mean?"

"Some days are better than others," he admitted. "Some days, I can almost believe that it didn't happen -- or that it did happen, but I'm over it now. And then something will happen that brings it all back and I'll find myself only one step away from screaming. Could be something big -- but mostly it's little things. A face. A smell. A look. A word. Some days I think 'I'm finally beating this', some days I wish I hadn't gotten out of there alive."

Jen shivered. That last was a sentiment she could definitely appreciate. "How do you get through the bad days?"

Eric shrugged a little. "I guess an hour at a time...a minute at a time sometimes -- but I have two choices. Either I get through them somehow or I give in...and giving in's too much like letting 'them' win." He offered her a smile. "Cliché as it sounds -- it does get easier."

"Does it?"

Eric nodded. "And you have a head start over me."

Jen stared at him a little blankly. "I do?"

He nodded again. "All I had to motivate me was my own stubbornness. You have friends waiting -- and no matter what you might think right now, they are still your friends. They'll help -- they might drive you nuts in the process," Eric smiled faintly, "but they will help."

Jen immediately latched on to what Eric wasn't saying. "What's with this 'they'?"

Eric sighed. "I don't know how much longer I'm going to be around here."

"You're running away."

"I'm not running I'm...walking." She didn't smile at the joke. He shrugged. "I've always been a loner -- Wes can testify to that from our time at school together. All of a sudden...I've got more people calling me a friend than I've ever had before..." Eric shrugged again. "There's other things, too... I need time -- perspective." He smiled faintly. "I've got reasons to come back this time, though."

Jen studied him for a few moments. Either he'd got better at lying since Saturday or he was telling the truth. "You're not going to bug out completely?"

He shook his head, but avoided actually answering her question. "You're welcome to stay if you don't feel like sleeping right now -- but I do kinda have to get back to this essay." Eric looked a little sheepish.

Jen managed a faint smile. "What's it about?" she asked, allowing him the subject change.

"Civil rights movement in the 1950s," Eric replied. "Brown versus the Topeka School Board."

Jen ran the reference through what she knew of the twentieth century's history but couldn't place it. "Is that as interesting as it sounds?"

Eric chuckled. "More, actually -- I'd sorta forgotten how much I actually enjoyed school."

"School was fun?" Jen said dubiously.

"Some of it."

"What made you forget?"

Eric sighed. "Combination of things. Mostly going to Billingsley."

Jen lapsed into silence as Eric got back to work.

Had talking to him helped?

She lay down on the bed; head propped on her hand, watching Eric work.

It had, she decided. The sheer fact that he hadn't started the conversation by asking how she was told her he understood. Nor had he tried to kid her into thinking this would be easily resolved. There was a certain amount of comfort in knowing that she wasn't alone. That the way she was feeling wasn't somehow wrong. She knew that Eric's experiences were vastly different to hers, but it was almost reassuring to know that he had gone through much the same emotional turmoil as she was going through.

__

All alone in the dark

No walls or windows

Trying hard to define

Heaven from hell

The words of the current track hit Jen. That was her. That was how she was feeling now.

__

Standing out in the rain

With just one shadow

Nothing to see or believe

Beyond myself

See my life going by

Each moment I'm alive

I keep reaching out, holding on, hoping...

Hope.

Somewhere between seeing Biocon and now, she'd lost sight of that concept. Maybe that was the biggest thing that Eric had shown her -- that there was hope. Sure, it wasn't going to be any bed of roses and there were no quick fixes, but she had hope.

__

Somewhere in my life

There's one light burning

Lighting up the skies

And leading the way

~*~

Wes woke somewhere not long after dawn to find himself alone. That in itself was enough to bring him to full wakefulness in an instant.

Where was Jen?

All manner of images pressed through his mind -- anything from something as innocent as a trip to the bathroom to something as sinister as a trip to the bathroom.

__

She wouldn't...

But he couldn't finish that thought because there was a very real possibility that she might.

Before he'd even really had a chance to consciously process the impulse, Wes was off the bed and across the room. Opening the door, he realised he could hear sounds coming from the kitchen. Jen? Or someone else?

Abruptly the noises ceased. A moment later and Wes heard the sounds of someone climbing the stairs. Worry prompted him to head towards the stairs to greet whoever it was.

"Didn't think anyone else would be up," said Eric softly as he came into view.

"Only just woke up," Wes admitted. "Um..."

"If you're looking for Jen," Eric cut in, "she's asleep on my bed." For one, long second, jealousy reared its head in Wes' mind. "Which is more than I've been."

"Huh?"

Eric took a mouthful from the coffee mug before replying, "I slept downstairs of the couch." He grimaced. "All two hours that I managed, at any rate."

"What's Jen doing in your room at all?"

"She came in for a chat at two am."

Wes opened his mouth to ask why, then the answer hit him. _I guess she figures that he understands._ He closed his mouth again and nodded instead.

Eric looked uncomfortable. "I'll...just grab my things and..."

Wes realised this was more than Eric had said to him in the last two days. With a dull jolt, he realised that Eric had been subtly avoiding him since they had returned from the mine. _Why?_ Wes wondered, puzzled. Then it dawned on him that the last thing either of them said to one another was on Sunday night. _Oh boy..._

"We need to talk," Wes announced, cutting Eric off.

If possible, Eric looked even more uncomfortable. "Is that before or after you punch me?"

"Punch you?!" Wes exclaimed. Hastily he lowered his voice. "I'm not going to punch you. C'mon." Not giving Eric a chance to complain, Wes all but dragged the other man downstairs and into the kitchen.

"What's there to talk about?" Eric asked. "You already think I'm scum..."

"Would you stop telling me what I think?" Wes retorted. "You don't know -- and why on earth would I think that anyway?"

Eric gave a shrug. "I figured...after what I said..."

"Oh you did." Wes rolled his eyes. "Well, your 'figuring' stinks, Eric."

"But you..."

"Listen -- for once. Sunday night was a bad night for everyone. It was the wrong time to be holding that kinda discussion anyway -- we were all tired, tempers were short and finding out that Alex had stuck you with those orders...I flipped out. I was angry with him because he'd given them. I was angry with Biocon because he'd made it necessary to give them. I wasn't angry with you -- you just happened to be a convenient target... And then you went out of your way to make yourself one by saying what you did about the Quantum Defender." Wes paused. "There's just one slight problem. I know you too well to ever believe you'd stun someone when you meant to kill."

Eric looked resigned.

"Eric, you are not a bad guy, and I don't believe for one second you could ever intentionally **hurt** either me or Jen." Eric opened his mouth. "Ah, and don't say you were prepared to sacrifice us to get rid of Biocon, I know that. I may not have done basic training but I know the thought process and if you'd gone through and shot Biocon, regardless of what happened next, I wouldn't have hated you for that, either." Eric's mouth closed with a snap. "Besides, correct me if I'm wrong, the second you realised Jen would know what she'd done was the second before you powered down. Right?"

Dumbly, Eric nodded.

"Like it or not -- we're partners, and we're friends. Deal."

"What if I don't want friends?"

Wes found himself grinning. "You think you get a vote on this?"

Eric glared but behind the look, Wes could see enough relief to know that his point had been made.

~*~

Jen woke, confused. For several seconds, she wondered where she was. The bed wasn't hers and the blanket covering her, while it smelt indefinably male, didn't smell of Wes. The answer slowly and embarrassingly drifted into her mind: She'd fallen asleep on Eric's bed after talking to him.

"Hey -- good morning."

If Jen had been confused before, she was now utterly puzzled. That was Wes' voice. What the...? She sat up and looked around. Yes definitely Wes standing just inside the doorway.

"Um..."

"Eric said you were here," Wes explained. "He also said he didn't realise his conversation was that bad." Jen stared at him for a few moments, trying to work out what he meant. Then she realised, and blushed. Wes offered her a smile. "It's OK -- he didn't. He's gone to college -- he did say to tell you he'd done 'that' essay." Wes looked faintly puzzled. "I guess you know what he means."

"He was working on a history essay last night," Jen replied. She found herself smiling a little. "Is it me or is there something amusing about using the name Eric and the phrase 'history essay' in the same sentence?"

Wes chuckled. "There is a little." Still smiling, he gave her a long, assessing look. "Did talking to Eric help?" he asked.

She nodded. "It's not that you're not helping it's just..."

"You and Eric have an experience in common," Wes finished. "It's an experience I haven't had..."

"I hope you never do," Jen put in quietly.

Wes nodded. "You and me both. I know that there are going to be some things that happen that Eric will understand that, no matter how hard I try, I can't. All I can do is be here for you."

Jen smiled. "Thanks Wes." She climbed off the bed, walked across to where Wes was standing and wrapped her arms around him in an embrace. "As long as you're with me, I know I can face this," she murmured.

"I'm not leaving," Wes answered.

"And...I know that the sooner I face this, the sooner I can start...dealing with it."

"You're going to speak to Alex?"

Jen looked up at Wes. "Today. I know it's not going to be good...but I have to face it."

Wes nodded. "You can squeeze my hand when it starts to hurt."

"If I do that I might never stop," Jen pointed out.

Wes offered her a smile. "Then I'll just get used to life with one hand."

Jen smiled in return. "I'll hold you to that."

~*~

Eric sighed as he pulled into the drive of Vista Del Oro. Wednesday was a light day as far as college went -- just one class. Which, he reflected, was probably just as well. He **ought** to have hung around in downtown Del Oro Bay and spent some time observing Josh, Pete and the third observation target, Laura Chan. _But there's no way I'm going to be able to keep my eyes open,_ he mused, parking in front of the house. _I need sleep._

He glanced in his rear view mirror.

__

Make that I **really** need sleep, he decided. _Cos now I'm hallucinating._

"Eric!"

Eric pinched the bridge of his nose, rubbed his eyes and looked out of the SUV's window. No -- he wasn't hallucinating. It was Alice.

"Alice -- let the poor guy get out of the car," observed Kimberly.

"Aw but..."

Alice stepped back, enabling Eric to climb out of the SUV. "Hey Alice -- how're you doing?"

"Good -- I missed you," she answered. She started to hold her arms up then hesitated. Eric didn't miss the quick glance back at Kimberly, or the answering nod. Something was up. On receiving the nod, Alice did offer the hug. A little awkwardly, he crouched and she bear-hugged him. "Did you miss me?"

"Sure did," he replied, surprising himself by realising that yes, he had actually missed her.

"Honey, let him up," Kimberly admonished.

"OK." Alice sighed but released her grip, allowing Eric to stand up again.

There was an awkward pause. "Hey Kim," he finally said.

She smiled. "Hey."

For lack of anything better to say, Eric added, "I figured you guys wouldn't be up here until this afternoon. But...um...you look great...good...um..." Eric found himself blushing. _Tiredness. Has to be tiredness._

Kimberly smiled again. "Your friend...ah...Trip -- he gave me something to help speed up the recovery. They released me yesterday afternoon, but Rocky and 'Sha couldn't come up until today."

"Oh." Eric could have kicked himself. When Trip had been fixing his hand, he'd asked Trip if there was something that he could do for Kimberly -- although subsequent events had pushed that request from his mind completely, Trip had obviously followed through. 

Kimberly gave him a critical look. "You don't look so hot yourself," she commented and then suddenly looked as if she wished she could take the words back. Eric didn't know what to make of that.

"Eh, I'll OK. Just...a bit tired."

"Well it's not as if it's my business anyway."

With a sinking sensation, Eric realised Rocky had probably told Kimberly about what he'd done -- and said -- on Sunday night. _Make that certainly,_ he decided as he finally put his finger on what was missing this morning. Until Sunday, there had been a little something extra between him and Kimberly -- a closeness that he hadn't even really been aware of until he'd noticed its lack now.

"Mommy I'm **bored**," Alice announced, interrupting the conversation. "Can we go inside again please?"

Kimberly smiled. "Of course, sweetheart." She looked down at Alice, and then back at Eric. "Let's go look for Lucas." Alice raced off. 

Kimberly moved to follow. 

"Kim, wait."

Kimberly stopped -- almost as surprised as Eric felt himself. "You want something?" she asked.

__

C'mon Myers...just **talk** to the woman. Not that hard. Eric swallowed. "I don't know what Rocky's said to you but..."

Kimberly's expression barely changed. "What makes you think he has?"

"He's your friend and he cares a lot for you," Eric answered. "I..."

"You what," Kimberly retorted. "You didn't mean it? You're leaving tomorrow?"

"No." Eric sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to desperately call his thoughts into order. "Sunday night was...a bad night. It's not an excuse...not exactly. It just brought up a whole bunch of stuff I'm not ready to deal with right now."

"Excuse me if I don't find this comforting," Kimberly cut in.

"I'm not explaining very well."

"No shit, Sherlock." Kimberly folded her arms across her chest. "You wanna make one more try at this, or can I go inside?"

Eric passed a hand over his face, wishing he didn't feel quite so tired. "I'm trying Kim -- please. Cut me a little slack." Kimberly inclined her head. "OK. I guess Rocky's told you something happened to Jen?" Kimberly nodded. "Well it brought back a lot of very, very bad memories for me. And on top of everything else that went on at the weekend..." Eric trailed off. "I'm making excuses."

"You are," Kimberly agreed quietly.

"I'm sorry." He looked down, studying the ground, aware of Kimberly walking away. "You have enough problems without me adding mine," he whispered. So why did he feel as if he had just made the biggest mistake of his life?

~*~

The living room was crowded.

Alex glanced around the room, noting who was sitting where. Jen was curled up on one of the armchairs with Wes perched on the arm next to her. Eric was sitting on the floor on the other side of her, although a little apart, clearly trying to give Jen support without encroaching on Wes' territory. Rocky and his wife were sitting together in the other wide armchair. Alex wasn't entirely happy with the idea of Aisha being present for these explanations -- it widened the circle of people who knew the full truth about Jen and about Time Force -- but Rocky had been adamant. Katie had taken up one seat on the couch, Kimberly the other -- and Alex noted that her chosen seat put her as far away from Eric as was possible whilst still remaining in the room. The final person in the room, Trip, was squatting on the floor next to Katie.

The only person absent was Lucas, who had volunteered to keep an eye on Alice while the explanations were given. As he put it, "I know most of this, and what I don't know I can get from Trip and Katie."

"So, Alex," Wes began, interrupting his thoughts. "We're all here..."

Alex nodded. _Time to get this show on the road._ "Jen -- are you sure you want to do this?"

"I have to," Jen answered softly. "I need to know the truth."

Alex nodded again. "OK." He took a moment to organise his thoughts. "The first thing to say is that none of this is your fault. Most of the blame for this lies with Biocon and his cronies, who -- I guess you'll be pleased to know -- aren't your family and never have been."

Jen nodded slowly. "I guess that's a relief."

"Where does the rest of the blame lie?" asked Eric quietly.

__

And this is where the fun starts. "With Time Force."

"With Time Force or with you?" Wes asked coldly.

"Both," Alex answered. "I know that I've made mistakes over the last week -- one of which could very easily have cost billions of people their lives." He saw both Wes and Eric wince, but he centred his attention on Jen. "Believe me, if I could do this over again, I would do it very, very differently."

"I believe you," Jen replied.

Alex nodded once. "OK. That's the easy part. It gets a lot more complicated from here on in." It was Jen's turn to nod. Alex produced a datapad from his pocket. "What I'm about to read is a report written by the then director of TF Temporal about the Shendraville massacre." He glanced at Rocky and Aisha and then at Kimberly. "I know this won't make a whole lot of sense..."

"We can ask Wes and Eric later," Rocky put in quietly.

"OK." Alex read out the report that had triggered the first alarm bells. In spite of Nechev being the source of the report, Alex still trusted its basic content -- largely because Rob Logan had finally tracked down the originator of the report and had verified it.

Jen was white faced by the end of it. "What do you mean?" she asked softly. "Do you mean **I'm** the Shendraville survivor?"

Alex sighed and nodded. "In a manner of speaking."

"Either she is or she isn't," objected Wes.

"What he means," said Kimberly quietly, "is that Jen's the person that report's talking about, but that she's not from Shendraville at all."

Alex lifted an eyebrow in mild surprise, but nodded all the same. He noted that Eric, in particular, looked stunned by the source of that piece of information. "Exactly that."

"Why?" Jen asked.

"The Alpha Project," Alex answered.

"Which is...?" prompted Wes.

Alex scrolled through the datapad for the next document. "It was something that was dreamed up by TF Technical some forty years ago, when Time Force was in its infancy -- it was supposed to be a 'humane'," Alex grimaced at the description -- no-one in the room believed that, "way of controlling prisoners." Alex glanced down at the pad. "The project's creator was one Dr Merle Askot."

"Mom." Jen's face was ashen. "Is **anything** I remember real?"

Alex looked up. "Honestly, Jen -- any memory you have from before age seven is probably implanted. I'm sorry."

__

TO BE CONTINUED...


	19. Epilogue - Moving Forward At Last

For the last time in this story: Alex, Jen, Wes, Eric, Lucas, Katie, Trip, Kimberly, Alice, Rocky and Aisha aren't mine. They are borrowed without permission from BVE. No harm, no foul, no money made. N-Tek, Berto Martinez and anyone connected to N-Tek that I've mentioned aren't mine either. They belong to Mattel, Sony and a bundle of animation companies and have been borrowed without permission. No harm, no foul, no money made. What little that's left (which would basically be the bad guys) belongs to me and while you're welcome to borrow, asking me first would be nice.

See the end credits section for my thank yous this time.

Please offer feedback, it tells me how I've done!

~*~

Max Force -- Moving Forward At Last

There was a long, leaden silence. Alex could see tears in Jen's eyes -- he could also see her valiantly fighting not to actually cry. Wes leant down and hugged her. What actually out and out surprised him was who broke the silence.

Eric murmured quietly, "You've still got hope."

"I think that light just went out."

Eric offered her a faint smile, clearly recognising the words. "It's still here -- still leading the way. Just look around this room. No-one's running. We're all still here. And more importantly, **they** aren't your family and they can't hurt you any more."

Silence descended again. Moments passed, then Wes murmured, "OK?"

Jen sniffed, then nodded. "OK."

Alex opened his mouth to say something and caught Rocky's look. "Maybe now would be a good time for your input," Alex said instead.

"Kim?" Rocky prompted, when nothing happened.

Alex watched as Kimberly started. Her attention had been fixed to Eric. _Curious and curiouser,_ Alex decided.

"Sorry." Kimberly swallowed. "First thing I did when I met Jen," she began, "was ask if I knew her from somewhere because she looked very familiar but...for a whole bunch of reasons, my memories of my school days aren't great. So I called Rocky who had maybe the one book that could solve this."

"Huh?" The exclamation came from just about everyone present in the room.

"Kim, you wanna make any less sense, hon?" Aisha asked, smiling faintly.

Kimberly shrugged, a little shame-faced. "You want to explain this -- be my guest, 'Sha."

This time, Alex noted, Aisha **did** smile, widely. "OK. I'm guessing since you guys mostly seem to have come from the future or are rangers...or are both, we're pretty safe telling you this. Kim was the first, original, pink Power Ranger when all that craziness started in Angel Grove."

That was comfortably the last revelation Alex had expected, but any surprise he felt was blatantly beaten by the utterly stunned look on Eric's face.

"Rocko and I were recruited as the second red and yellow rangers about eighteen months later," Aisha continued, apparently oblivious to the electrifying effect she'd had on the room. "Then about six months later, Kim left to go to Florida, and two months after that, right at the end of our junior year of High School, this creep called Master Vile showed up."

"He made the newspapers in Silverhills," Wes commented.

"Well he did worse than that," said Rocky, taking up the explanation. "He turned back time. Literally. And this is where it gets crazy. Everyone went back ten years -- and I mean **everyone**. The only people who actually **knew** about it were the six of us rangers and the bad guys. To a lesser extent, Kim and the original red, black and yellow rangers also knew something had happened but, not what or how. The only place that was insulated against the effects was our base...which was where I'd managed to leave my junior yearbook. So **my** yearbook shows how things were before Master Vile showed up."

"And things changed during that time?" said Alex; although he had a feeling he knew where this was going.

"Big time," Aisha agreed. "For starters, when time finally got fixed, I was in Africa and in my place was Tanya Sloan -- and as far as everyone else was concerned, Aisha Campbell had never lived in Angel Grove."

And now Alex was sure of where this was heading -- and why Rocky had been so adamant that Aisha be present. "And if someone had been pulled out of the time stream altogether at that point...?"

"Then when time reverted, it would have been as if they'd never existed," Rocky answered, nodding.

"Rocky brought the unaltered yearbook over," Kimberly put in, "and I went through every picture in there with him."

"And you found me?" Jen asked.

For answer, Kimberly produced the yearbook and crossed the room to stand beside Jen's seat. Eric started to scoot out of the way but Kimberly stopped him with a quick shake of the head and a brief smile.

"What I found was the one other person who'd disappeared," she corrected, opening the yearbook. "Her name was Chrissy Lithgow. She was a freshman at Angel Grove High School -- the reason I knew her," Kimberly explained, "was because she'd been on the gymnastics team."

Kimberly held the open book out to Jen, who gasped. Alex didn't need to be able to see the picture to know what it showed.

"What you're saying," said Katie, "is that Jen's really from Angel Grove?"

Rocky nodded. "I remember Chrissy -- and man, it was scary meeting Jen on Sunday afternoon. It took just about every ounce of concentration I had not to call you Chrissy," he added.

"Sorry..."

"You have nothing to be sorry about, girl," Aisha cut in. "This is not your fault -- remember? You wanna pin this on someone, blame Biocon; better still, blame Master Vile. I chose to stay on in Africa, at least for a while -- you didn't get any kinda choice."

"So...I have a family?" Jen asked, the note of hope in her voice obvious to everyone in the room.

Kimberly hugged her tightly as Rocky shook his head.

"Chrissy Lithgow doesn't exist in this time stream," Alex explained softly. 

"The Lithgows never had a daughter," put in Aisha.

"So who the hell does that make me?"

Again it was Eric who was the first to speak after a lengthy silence.

"You're Jen. It doesn't matter who you **were**, or who you might have been, or who Biocon wanted you to be. You're **you**."

This time Alex caught the look of surprise on Kimberly's face although it was very quickly replaced by a more thoughtful expression -- almost as though she'd misjudged him over something.

"Is it just that simple?" Jen whispered.

"If you want it to be," Eric answered.

"But Jen is a Scotts...Biocon's **niece**." Jen shuddered. "I'm not using that name ever again."

"Then..." Wes hesitated, looking more nervous than he might had he been told to do a parachute jump without the 'chute. "Will you change it to Collins?"

"But -- I..." Jen looked bewildered. Her gaze came to rest on Alex. "I can't...can I?"

Alex swallowed, hard. "Jen -- you can. You're **supposed** to be a part of this time. Destiny Force doesn't apply to you -- so where you want to stay after this is up to you." The words were sincere but they still hurt -- even though Alex knew he'd lost her a long time ago.

"I can stay here?" Jen asked, again the note of hope painfully clear. Alex nodded, relieved that this time that hope wouldn't be crushed. "With no repercussions?"

Aisha grinned. "Girl, you're meant to be here. And are you telling me you really wanna leave?"

Alex found himself smiling in spite of himself as Jen suddenly flung her arms around Wes' neck. She mumbled something that he couldn't quite hear -- although he could guess what it was from Wes' expression.

"Just let us know when the wedding is," said Katie. "You can count on us to be there."

"We will do," Wes agreed.

The room gradually settled down again. Kimberly retook her seat -- although from the looks she was now casting in Eric's direction, Alex judged that she was regretting her original choice of seat.

"What about this Alpha shit?" Jen asked.

"With Biocon dead," Alex answered, "and unquestionably, and emphatically dead, I might add -- his body is now under several tons of rock thanks to a small and 'accidental' landslip -- and Merle Askot locked up awaiting trial I'm the only person with any idea of how the commands work, which," he added with a sigh, " was not my idea."

"Excuse me?"

"Rob Logan did a memory extract from Askot while I was under sedation for a blaster wound and in lieu of a better idea, they dumped the information into my head -- on the grounds that once I was fit enough, I'd be leading a team here." 

"But is there a way to get rid of it -- from my head, I mean?" Jen asked quietly. "I don't like the idea of being turned into a walking zombie again."

"I don't blame you," Alex replied. "Askot wasn't saying when I last checked. I can tell you, though, there is a delete command that I can give -- with a voice changer geared to mimic Biocon's voice..."

"Which is how you were able to get control of Jen in the mine," Eric put in.

Alex nodded. "What I **don't** know is what that delete command does. For all I know, it will delete everything in your memory. Or it might just be something that deletes the programming." He shrugged helplessly. "Askot isn't saying -- and we can't extract any more from her, she's gone to some trouble to actively forget this data."

"I need to think about that."

"Of course." Alex nodded.

~*~

The next five weeks passed by in a whirl of activity.

Lucas and Eric quietly completed the surveillance mission. While Eric completed the full placement at Del Oro Bay College, it very quickly became apparent to both that whatever the source of the anomalous readings was, it was not due to mutant activity. After two weeks, Lucas was also reasonably sure that it wasn't due to time lost objects either.

__

"Short of doing a spot of B and E one night," he had explained, _"I can't be one hundred percent sure, but having met Berto Martinez and done a little investigation into the guy... There's a serious brain trust at N-Tek. And whatever else they are or aren't doing there, the advanced technology is being kept very tightly secured. If it's ahead of its time, I don't think it's going to get into the public domain."_

Alex and Katie tied off the last remaining loose ends as far as the Biocon affair was concerned in the twenty-first century -- Biocon's gang -- before they, Trip and Lucas returned to the thirtieth century to tie off the remaining loose ends there. Jen wasn't sure how they'd finessed the former and she knew that the latter would, ultimately, require her to make some form of formal statement when the court cases against Merle Askot and Nidia Nechev were brought.

That was one thing she put off thinking about.

There were other things that required her attention. She and Wes had spent a couple of days in Silverhills, talking to Wes' father about the wedding. It finally took Wes threatening to drive to Las Vegas before his father would actually listen about the size of wedding.

__

"I don't want this big production number," Wes had insisted. _"This isn't a social event, dad. Besides -- there's no-one in 'society' I'd actually **want** at my wedding."_

__

"But Wesley -- son..." Then Mr Collins had turned his attention to his prospective daughter-in-law. _"Don't you want a big day?"_

Jen smiled faintly, recalling his expression when she'd told him that all that mattered to her was who she was marrying. Then, and only then, had they been able to explain to Wes' father exactly why this was so important. Once he understood that, he'd been much more amenable -- although he was still insisting that there would be some form of proper ceremony, but it would be strictly friends and close family only. Jen could live with that -- so could Wes.

Then, of course, there was Eric and Kimberly. Kimberly had finished her recuperation from Dirk's attack at Vista Del Oro and Jen had found herself spending a lot of time in the other woman's company. There was such an instant connection that, for a day or so, Jen wondered if that was because of Chrissy. Kimberly set her mind to rest on that,

__

"Sure, I **knew** Chrissy," she had explained, _"but that doesn't mean I actually liked her. When Rocko said it was scary, he meant it -- Chrissy was a bitch."_

Jen snickered softly. There were plenty of people who'd described Jen Scotts as a bitch, too.

In due course, the subject of Eric had come up.

__

"He's avoiding me," Kimberly had admitted. _"I think I've made a huge mistake."_

And slowly, Kimberly had explained what had gone on between her and Eric. Jen winced at that memory.

__

"You've known him longer...is he going to leave and not come back?" Kimberly had finished, but it was a question Jen had no answer to.

When she had talked to Eric he had said he had reasons to return, but that had been before he had spoken to Kimberly. Jen wondered now how many of those reasons to return related to Kimberly and Alice, and decided -- based on Eric's behaviour over the past five weeks -- that the answer was probably most of them. Kimberly and Alice had returned to Silverhills the week before -- since Kimberly had to return to work and Alice had to return to school -- but had left Jen wondering if there was any way she could help them.

"Penny for them?" Wes suggested, drawing Jen back to the here and now.

Jen offered a faint smile. "Just thinking about Eric and Kim." Wes smiled back. "There ought to be some way to help them."

"You mean short of actually locking them in a room together and not letting them out until they admit their feelings for each other?"

Jen giggled. "Short of that," she agreed. "Although I guess that would solve the problem."

Wes grinned. "It certainly would -- but..." His grin faded. "How can two people make such a mess of a relationship?"

Jen smirked self-depreciatively. "And I suppose we didn't?"

Wes smiled wryly. "Good point."

"I guess..." Jen looked at Wes. "I guess the only way we can help them is preventing Eric from leaving."

Wes grimaced. "That could be harder than we think."

"Oh?"

Wes shook his head. But before he could elaborate, the sound of the SUV pulling up outside Vista Del Oro brought the discussion to a halt. A few moments later and Eric walked in having completed his final day at Del Oro Bay College.

"So...?" Wes asked.

"So," Eric replied. "So what?"

Wes chuckled. "Did you enjoy this?"

The glare that answered the question was enough to send Jen into uncontrollable laughter. Eric tried to look offended, but Jen could see the corners of his mouth turning up in amusement.

"I guess it wasn't so bad," Eric finally admitted, sitting down in the armchair opposite the couch, where Wes and Jen were sitting. "Might be nice to do it for real someday. And if you ever tell anyone I said that I will deny it," he added.

"You're secret's safe," Jen managed, trying to stop laughing.

"So," Eric began as Jen's chuckles finally subsided, "what now?"

"I guess we head back to Silverhills and find out what this century has in store for me," Jen answered.

Eric shook his head. "Not what I mean, and you know that."

"You mean about that delete command," said Jen softly. Eric nodded. Wes squeezed her hand gently. "I don't know," she answered.

There was a moment's hesitation, then Eric said, "Do you want my advice?"

Jen thought for several moments. She had a feeling she knew what Eric's advice would be. Wes gave her hand another squeeze. "OK."

Eric leaned forward until his elbows were resting on his knees. "If I was where you are...I think I'd take the risk."

"But what if it leaves me like a vegetable?" Jen asked. "I can't understand why they'd have put in a delete function otherwise."

Eric smiled grimly. "If I was Biocon," he answered, "I would want some way of restoring 'defaults'. I don't mean wiping out experiences, but some way of getting rid of the false memories so that you could be 'reprogrammed'." He sat back. "That would be what I would have done in his position."

Jen shivered at the conviction in Eric's voice. "You couldn't be like Biocon."

"Couldn't I?" Eric smiled faintly. "That's beside the point."

"Wes?" Jen turned to him. "What would you do?"

Wes looked thoughtful. "I don't know," he admitted. "Whatever you choose, I'm with you."

"Same her," Eric agreed quietly. "Whatever you choose."

There was a lengthy silence in the room. _I have to face this,_ she reminded herself. _And that means facing it all._

"I have to call Alex and go for it, don't I?" she finally said.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," Wes answered.

"But if I ever want to put it behind me..."

"You have a potential way out," Eric commented softly, an unmistakeable note of wistfulness to his voice. "It won't fix things completely, but it will probably give you back yourself."

"You're certain about that?"

Eric gave a lopsided smile. "Not exactly. Like I said, if I was Biocon, that would be what I'd have done."

Jen nodded slowly. "Wes..."

"If you're all right with it," Wes answered, "then so am I. Go -- call Alex up. Let's get this done."

~*~

Alex wasn't entirely surprised to receive the holo-message from Jen about the Alpha Delete command. Nor was he really surprised by the speed. Knowing Jen it was probably something that had never been far from her thoughts since he'd mentioned it.

He sighed.

__

I just hope this works right.

He tugged at the twenty-first century sweater that someone had found for him for this trip. He felt deeply uncomfortable out of uniform but, _When in Rome..._ Making sure the briefcase that contained the voice changer securely tucked under his arm, he made his way slowly up the drive of Vista Del Oro.

Someone had obviously been watching for his arrival as the front door swung open as he reached the porch.

"Good trip?" Wes enquired politely.

__

Polite. Not friendly. Alex ignored the voice in the back of his mind and offered Wes a tired smile. "About as good as could be expected."

"We're in the living room -- do you want a cup of coffee?" Wes continued, allowing Alex into the house.

"No -- thank you." Alex sighed. "Best to get this over with."

Wes nodded.

Alex headed into the living room as Wes shut the front door behind him. Jen was curled up on the same armchair she'd been sitting in for the explanations five weeks earlier. Eric was crouching beside her, saying something -- although what, Alex couldn't catch as the conversation ceased as he entered the room.

"I'll get out of the way," Eric stated, moving to stand up.

"You don't have to," Alex responded.

Eric got to his feet, shooting Alex a glare. "I'll..."

"Eric -- stay. Please?" Jen asked quietly.

Alex couldn't see Eric's face, but he got the impression the other man was counting to ten. Slowly. "All right -- for you."

"So," said Wes as Eric took up a seat on the floor beside Jen's chair, "what happens now?"

Alex nervously perched on the edge of the couch, setting the briefcase down on his lap, while Wes came and balanced against the arm of Jen's chair.

"Now..." Alex sighed. "I have a voice changer programmed with Biocon's voice characteristics." He patted the case. "I have to give three commands. The first brings the Alpha Project programming online again, the second is just going to be a test to make sure it's worked OK -- I'll get you to wave your hand or nod, the third is the delete command."

"That's it?" said Jen.

"That's it," Alex agreed. "Are you sure you want me to do this?"

Alex watched as both Wes and Eric offered Jen quiet support, Wes by taking hold of her hand and squeezing, Eric by giving her a smile and a nod. "Yes."

"OK." Alex opened the briefcase and took out the voice changer. "Ready?" Jen nodded. Alex fitted the voice changer and turned it on. "Last chance," he offered, this time in Biocon's voice. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. Just...get this over with."

Alex nodded once. "Alpha project online." Alex watched as Jen froze in position, noting the anxiety visible on Wes' face. "Alpha: Nod your head once." She nodded. Praying with all his might that this was going to work out, Alex stated the third command, "Alpha: Delete."

For a long, painful, drawn out second, nothing happened. Then to his horror, Jen's eyes rolled back into her head and she fainted. Alex felt rooted to the spot. Seconds stretched into hours. He could feel Eric's angry gaze boring into him. He could feel Wes' angry thoughts directed at him, although the other man's gaze was solely for Jen. At the distance he was, he couldn't even tell if Jen was breathing.

When Wes' heated gaze fell on him, Alex knew that Jen wasn't breathing.

Alex closed his eyes.

He was dead.

He didn't need to see the looks on Wes and Eric's faces to know that the rest of his life span was now measured in milliseconds.

The Alpha Delete command had killed Jen and it would kill him.

And into that electric silence came a loud, harsh gasp.

"Jen?"

Alex didn't dare look.

"W...what happened?"

At Jen's voice, Alex had to look. She was sitting up in her seat once more, blinking a little owlishly.

"Do you know who I am?" Wes asked and Alex could hear the fear in his voice.

There was a lengthy pause, then Jen smiled. "You're the guy I love, you're Wes."

Alex sagged in relief.

"Did it work?" Eric wanted to know.

There was another lengthy pause. "I don't know," she finally admitted. "Alex?"

"Want me to give another alpha command?" he asked, still in Biocon's voice. Jen nodded, although the looks on Wes and Eric's faces suggested they weren't keen on the idea. "Alpha Project online."

Nothing happened.

Jen smiled. "I guess it worked."

Alex busied himself packing away the voice changer.

"No new memories?" Wes asked.

  
"No," Jen admitted a little sadly. "But maybe that's just as well -- don't know that I want two sets of memories floating in my head. Thanks Alex," she added.

To his surprise, she got up from her seat and offered him a hug. "What for?"

Jen smiled. "For being a friend."

~*~

Jen slowly looked around the as yet bare apartment. So different from the apartment she'd lived in back in Central City, yet it already looked and felt more like a home than that one had ever felt. This one was an early wedding present from her future father-in-law, complete with furniture, which Wes and Eric had helped her to arrange that morning.

They had now departed, Eric rightly pointing out that it was about time they got back to running the Silver Guardians. Once she was settled in Silverhills, Jen would join them.

__

"What else are you going to do?" Eric had asked after she'd initially turned down Wes' suggestion. _"I can't see you being happy working in Wal-Mart any more than I was."_

Which was perfectly true. Jen sighed. She just couldn't help but feel part of Eric's insistence stemmed from his desire to leave.

The buzzer sounded, breaking her train of thought and she smiled. That would be Kimberly, who had offered to show her around the mall and help her pick out some new clothing and a few oddments for the apartment.

"Hey, Jen," Kimberly called over the entry phone. "Are you ready?"

"I'll be right down."

Grabbing keys and jacket, Jen headed for the door. The future was far from certain and there were a lot of things that still needed work but... Jen smiled. She was home, and this time, she was staying.

__

TO BE CONTINUED IN HIDE AND SEEK AND FUTURE IMPERFECT...

~*~

End Credits

There are many people who've helped shape this story into what it's become in the last three months, so in no particular order...

You. Yes, you. The person reading this note now. Thank you. Thank you for reading, thank you for reviewing. Without the reviews I've received, certain aspects of this story would never have happened, or would have happened differently. (So if you think I don't read my reviews, you're wrong!)

Gamine who has been, and continues to be, a wonderful human being, an excellent cattle prod and a thoroughly patient nitpicker. She helped me immensely when it came to writing several of the confrontations (even plotting through a conversation that has to have happened, even though I don't make more than a passing reference to it in the story to help me get a proper handle on Kimberly's thought process) and this story would have been greatly harder and far, far poorer without your help. Thank you.

Ecolea, Leathie, Irina and Selma who have been a fabulous cheer squad throughout, and who have all allowed me to work bits and pieces of this story off them at various stages preventing me from sounding too English, too geography-deficient or too clueless when it came to California's highways. Thank you.

Vanessa and Angel who both helped me dramatically in the setting up of the mystery -- conspiracies are easy. Writing the trail of breadcrumbs to lead up to the conspiracy and not blow the big plot twist at the first hurdle is tough. Thank you.

Chris who very graciously double-checked my MMPR references and who provided the version of the Destiny Force I've relied on in the course of this story. Thank you.

Lastly, Ekat who hasn't been able to help out as much on this story as on Identity but who has provided me with countless hours of patient help, particularly when it comes to the various aspects of American life and sundry medical conditions. Thank you -- and this is for you, may the next three months be considerably better than the last!

Three months, nineteen chapters, seventy-five thousand words. Book two in the Identiverse is now complete.


End file.
